Hot Chocolate
by Hazelnut
Summary: For her, he was willing to sacrifice his fanclub. For her, he was willing to sacrifice his job. But for which 'he' will she be willing to sacifice in return? A touching tale of pain, denial, and love melted into a warm whirlpool of sweetness... [RyoSaku]
1. The Snow Cottage

The Snow Cottage only opened during the season of carols and sleighs, yet this did not hinder its popularity.

A blazing fire roared in the hearth of an enormous brick fireplace, lighting up the cozy wooden house and radiating warm rays into every corner of the room. On each separate table stood translucent ocean-blue vases, their identical curvy bodies seemed to elegantly envelop the buttery yellow roses blooming from within. Wooden-framed paintings of fertile grassland and tulip fields were lined along all four sides of the cafe walls, an encouraging reminder of the upcoming season of tranquility and growth.

Every customer's face glowed with contentment as they wrapped their stiff fingers around cups of steaming coffee and savored the rich yet bitter liquid as it slid down their throats. Even the waiters and waitresses here always seemed cheerful as they gracefully yet efficiently presented trays of sweet cupcakes and berry muffins to the appropriate seats.

The air was filled with a strong aroma of coffee and baking. Yet the faint fragrance of jasmine wafted through, a perfume pleasant and easing to the senses.

It was on a day as normal as this one... that everything began.

* * *

Among the busy waitresses taking orders at the front counter, was a girl with gentle glowing eyes and soft milky skin. 

Her long auburn hair, as smooth and fine as wisps of silk, was braided into a single plait down her back for convenience; with a shimmering pink hairclip pinned neatly above her right ear.

Ryuzaki Sakuno's smile never faltered when she served anyone.

Her smart clean appearance had won her the job at this cafe two weeks ago, although the consequence of having to significantly reduce her time for tennis had been foreseen.

_Perhaps it's for the best._

Her smile faded when there was, at last, a gap in the flow of customers and she was finally able to catch her breath.

_The harder I try, the further I seemed to be from the person whom I really wanted to impress...so why bother?_

She pasted a cheery smile onto her face to disguise her bitterness as an elderly man limped up to the counter and made his orders, her voice rang mechanically in response, asking him the well-learnt questions..."Are there any special preferences we should note down?", "Is that all?", "Is that to have here or takeaway?"

She typed the orders into the cash register and her fingers curled around the forty-seventh one thousand yen note she had touched that day. Sighing softly, her eyes followed the man's hunched back around the room until he stopped at a vacant seat next to a window on the east side of the cottage.

White crystallized snow glimmered on the windowsill outside, there was a snow storm not long ago - just a couple of hours - and it had completely covered the world with a blinding whiteness as if someone had dumped a huge bucketful of silver paint onto Tokyo within minutes.

The atmosphere was peaceful.

Almost _too_ peaceful.

_Like the calm before a storm..._

The tiny golden doorbell above the entrance door twinkled again – like it had been all day...almost like a nightingale singing... but, rather, all on the same note..._or is it more like a sparrow chirping? _

Sakuno bit back a laugh at the absurdity for considering things such as 'what bird the doorbell most resemble'. She must have worked too long, or smiled too much...one or the other. Quickly, the girl looked around to see if Akito had noticed her spacing out in the middle of work, but luckily he was occupied with the new customers.

Is it possible for time to drain out hope? ...For she has almost completely forgotten the tickling sense of excitement when Echizen Ryoma had first entered her life. Could she remember the last time his eyes met hers? Or when he spoke to her on his own free will? ...

Hardly.

_I'm tired of it... tired of hoping, of waiting-_

_Waiting._

_What's the point?_

_I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel, or a prize in exchange for my patience._

It was pathetic for waiting so long, for hoping so hard, for searching so deep.

To believe in an impossible response was an absolute waste of time.

The more she thought about it, the more aware she became of the fact.

The cruel fact that she should have given up on him years ago.

The fact that she could no longer deny.

And indeed, she did not plan to, for Sakuno had found herself rather _convinced_ on her attraction to the cafe's Head Waiter, Akito, which blossomed during the earlier weeks of work. His caring and considerate attitude not only contrasted Ryoma's personality, but also answered her longing for warmth, instead of the icy coldness she had been receiving for four years.

This time, she was sure she could cut away her affection for the tennis prodigy.

Completely, utterly, once and for all.

Suddenly, she blushed._ Drats_. If she had known that she would be staring into Akito's questioning eyes merely twenty centimeters in front of her, she wouldn't have put on that stupefied "thinking" face.

"Are you all right, Ryuzaki?" Akito's quiet but stern voice sounded in a whisper. "Why are you spacing out like that?"

"S-Sorry...I won't do it again." Sakuno lowered her eyes in guilt. _Oh no...I was supposed to __**impress**__ him with my skills, not __**annoy**__ him...!_

"Right... never mind. There's a bunch of guys at table 9, could you take their orders for me? I need to attend to table 4..." Akito half asked and half demanded, yet his tone managed to remain gentle.

"Y-Yeah, sure! No problem..." Sakuno gulped nervously when she saw the dazzling smile of gratefulness spreading over his face.

"Cheers, Ryuzaki." Akito threw his thanks back over his shoulder as he quickly picked up a wooden tray boldly labelled "4" from the coffee bar.

_Anytime._ Sakuno beamed and took out a notepad from her apron pocket as she almost skipped towards table 9, the largest table in the centre of the café, usually reserved for bookings on special occasions.

"Good evening, may I please take your orders?" Sakuno put on her warmest smile, which wasn't hard due to her little incident just seconds ago. She was _definitely_ sure she could get over Echizen Ryoma now-

"Ooh! I want two pieces of chocolate mud cake with extra cream, three pieces of cheese cake, and-" An extremely eager voice sounded from the middle of the table, but was soon cut off by another impatient and whiney voice next to it.

"Hey Momo! _I _was supposed to order first!"

To say that Sakuno was frozen with dread would be quite an understatement.

She was horrified, mortified, … _petrified_.

Her ordering pad clattered to the ground as she felt the blood drain from her face and... located the owners of the voices who were fighting over the menu.

"M-Momo-senpai and Kikumaru-senpai...?"

The two upperclassmen stopped. With one of Kikumaru's hand still pinching and distorting Momshiro's face and one of Momoshiro's arms frozen in the motion of whacking Kikumaru's chest, they both looked up at the sound of their names, surprised.

Silence fell upon the table.

"...Errr...y-you are..." The boy frowned; Sakuno could almost see a miniature of Momoshiro frantically ripping open files of memories within his brain, searching for a name to match up with her face.

She blushed as the air above the table sizzled with awkwardness, as the whole table stared at her in perplexity. Cold sweat broke out over her palms as she prayed desperately for someone – _anyone_ – to break the silence-

"You dropped your pad, Ryuzaki."

_Uh, __**almost**__ anyone._

The voice which came to her rescue was a voice all too familiar to her. Her heart wrenched at the sound of it. And, well, it _would_ have been a rescue had it _not_ been spoken by Echizen Ryoma, or been _worded_ that way.

The whole table erupted into laughter.

Sakuno's heart sank. She could feel her cheeks heating up like a 100-watt light bulb.

"Hahahaha…pad…_pad_… you're a _genius_, Ochibi…" Kikumaru Eiji thumped the younger boy on the back and wiped the tears from his eyes with an exaggerated rub with his arm.

"Ryuzaki!!! That's the one!" Momoshiro Takeshi slapped his thigh in remembrance. "You're that old hag's granddaughter, right?? What are you doing here?"

"If she's wearing a _waitress's uniform_ it's _obvious_ why she's here, you dumbass!" Kaidou Kaoru muttered as he played with a silver spoon sitting on the table.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, MAMUSHI??"

"I _SAID_-"

"Hey, calm down you two!" Oishi Syuichiro frowned sternly. "You're troubling the other customers!"

"Che. I'll get back to you on this, you creepy dirty reptile!! …_Anyway-" _Momoshiro turned back to Sakuno, who has simply been standing awkwardly at the end of the table, unsure of how to take their orders – to capture their attention, for a start. "Since when have you been working here?"

"Umm… I-I've been here for two months, Momo-senpai."

"Ah, I see… Gee, you've grown from the little girl who liked Echi-"

"I haven't grown much at all, Momo-senpai!" Sakuno smiled nervously as she bent down to scoop up the_ notepad _she had dropped earlier, due to her shock at seeing the old Seigaku Regulars at her workplace so unexpectedly.

"Oh _yes_ you _have_… thinner, taller, prettier (at this she blushed)… but I _knew_ I've seen you somewhere before… Thanks for the clue, Echizen! As a token of my thanks, I can give you a bite of my cheese cake - _Hey_,_ stop it_ Eiji-senpai-" Momoshiro Takeshi's offer was left unconfirmed as he shifted his focus back to the 'menu war' which has resumed between himself and Kikumaru Eiji.

"Momo, the pretty waitress is Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter, did you say?? Then, if I remembered correctly-" The face of the red-headed boy cracked into an evil grin, ignoring the furious shouts of Momoshiro as they played tug-of-war with a piece of folded laminated paper.

He raised his voice but dared not move his eyes from the precious menu.

"OCHIBI! You wanna _swap seats_? Don't sit on the end by yourself… I'm _sure_ you'd like a better view of a _certain_ waitres_s _– HA!! Momo you lost!" Kikumaru gleefully waved the menu which he had wrestled out of Momoshiro's hand as if it was the US Open trophy, then leaned his whole body towards the far end of the table to... grab hold of an arm.

Sakuno's heart gave another great painful pang against her chest when Ryoma's irritated face appeared from behind Oishi's body, past which Kikumaru's arm had extended and fastened around his.

"...Let go." Ryoma's cool voice showed a tinge of annoyance.

"Aww, why not? You _know_ you want to–"

"Let _**go**_."

Kikumaru chuckled and dropped his arm, but he and Momoshiro exchanged a knowing grin.

"..._Anyway_, I would like a cup of mochaccino with extra chocolate!" Kikumaru announced his order and made a face at Momoshiro, who was looking hungrily at the booklet in the nineteen-year-old's hands.

"...Uh...s-sure..." Sakuno was still trying desperately to recover from the shock of the unexpected appearance of Ryoma, but her feelings were like gigantic waves tumbling and rolling inside her heart, completely out of control.

"Err...so...why is everyone here?" Sakuno asked the first question which popped into her mind, wanting to buy some more time for her mood to recover.

"Ah, because for each of our two-year tennis club reunions we thought it would be better if we took turns to decide where we should go , and this time it was Tezuka's turn..." Oishi kindly explained to her with a smile and gestured towards Tezuka Kunimitsu, who was sitting between Momoshiro and Inui, looking as cold as ever. However, he nodded towards Sakuno solemnly.

Sakuno blushed and immediately bowed back, unable to think of him as anyone else other than the God-like captain of Seigaku Tennis Club like he once was.

"What would you recommend, Tezuka?" Fuji's smile has not changed at all, and his gentle voice has surely attracted many more girls' attention even after high school.

"Jasmine tea, although I've never tried the coffee." Tezuka's reply was brief.

"Jasmine tea, is it? Hmmm... Then I'll have one pot of that plus a Creamy Caramello Delight Sundae."

"Tea and _sundae_? What are you_ thinking_, Fuji-senpai?" Momoshiro put on a disgusted face but couldn't resist sneaking a few looks at the sundae section of the menu.

"Well, it's not exactly the first time we've witnessed Fuji's weird taste for food, is it?" Kawamura Takashi laughed on the other side of Fuji. "...by the way, my wasabi sushi _does_ taste better now…"

Kikumaru's face turned to a shade of green as he laughed bitterly at the memory of Oishi forcing everyone to eat Kawamura's wasabi sushi pretending they were Rikkaidai. "_Can _wasabi sushi taste better?"

"Shhhh----" Kaidou did his trademark hiss as he also vividly recalled the taste of that particular mushy green sushi, burning his swollen tongue as if it was a piece of heated metal stuffed into his mouth.

"Ah, yes...the chance of Fuji ordering tea and sundae _is_ 97 percent after all..." Inui Sadaharu chuckled evilly to himself and scribbled a few more notes into his seaweed-green notebook.

Sakuno smiled when she saw that her senpais have not changed at all over the four years, but her smile soon stiffened when a quiet voice sounded from the far end of the table.

"Are there _any_ other good drinks here?" Ryoma inquired out loud, his cool voice slicing through the heated arguments as he lifted his lazy golden eyes to Sakuno's.

The girl stared back for at least ten seconds, not exactly sure who he was posing the question to. But when she saw the whole table looking expectantly in her direction she gave a start and hurriedly raked her brain for any drink she thought would suit Ryoma's taste, excluding Ponta, of course.

"U-um...our hot chocolate is quite good." Sakuno was finally able to squeeze out one sentence, although, to her dismay, it came out as a rather high-pitched squeak.

"Hmm...? I'll try that, then." Ryoma closed his eyes, yawned, and closed his menu.

Although a little surprised at how...uh, "obedient" he was, Sakuno jotted down the order without another word.

* * *

The copper can containing cocoa powder glinted under the shaded light bulb as Sakuno carefully scooped out two spoonfuls of chocolate. 

_Why do I feel so...disturbed seeing Ryoma-kun here?_

_I mean, I see him everyday at school anyway._

_But somehow... today is...especially awkward._

_Maybe it's because all the Senpais are here...which reminds me of four years ago._

_The pathetic __**naivety **__of four years ago._

_When the thrills of seeing Ryoma-kun and his breathtaking skills were enough to blind me from all logic._

..._Oh what is __**wrong**__ with everything today?_.

She scowled at the couple of white drops swooshing in the milk bottles as she took it from the coffee bar fridge, and sighed.

Only one choice remains when ingredients run out... walk right around to the back of the Cottage where a smaller fridge contained emergency supplies.

But the weather would undoubtedly be a challenge.

The howling wind nearly toppled her over the instant she opened the door. Yet she held tightly onto the doorframe and steadied herself just in time. The freezing wind stung her eyes and seemed to whip her face mercilessly, making her eyes water with pain. The cold was so intense that her fingers were numb even before she opened the fridge and took out three bottles of milk, one in each hand and the last pressed against her stomach.

Stumbling against the wind's resistance to the door, she was just stepping through the frame when a huge gust suddenly punched her from behind.

She was knocked off balance.

Knees wobbled.

All the air squeezed from her lungs.

Yet she could not steady herself as her arms were full with milk bottles and if she drops them--God knows what Akito will think of her.

Then she heard a crash in front of her, and felt herself falling into the softness of someone's arms.

She was almost afraid to look up, for she had smelled the scent of coffee as her face was flattened into the materials of his uniform.

"A-Akito-kun..." Sakuno stammered as her eyes met the two warm inky eyes of the head waiter.

"Whoa, Ryuzaki! Are you all right?" Akito smiled with a hint of amusement but worry showed through every syllable of the phrase.

"...I-I'm fine...thanks..." Sakuno quickly regained her balance and withdrew from the awkward position. Then her eyes were caught by a tray on the floor behind where Akito was kneeling, with shattered china and glass scattering in a wide area around it. She looked down and saw that all three milk bottles were still safe in her arms.

"Oh my gosh...I'm so sorry...!" Sakuno gasped and immediately bent down to help clear up the mess, only to be stopped by Akito's firm voice.

"No... it was my fault, really. I'll clean these up...you go out and help the customers, they are waiting."

"But..." Sakuno hesitated as she thought of how Akito dropped all theses breakable glassware only to prevent her from being hurt.

"Go," Akito repeated with a reassuring smile and nodded in the direction behind her.

Sakuno apologized once more and turned around...

...only to come face to face with Echizen Ryoma.

Silence fell.

She gaped at him for what felt like an eternity.

_How long has he been standing there? Did he see... Akito-kun catching me? _

Hundreds of questions flashed through her mind, but her lips would not move as if they had been sewed together.

Meanwhile Ryoma remained expressionless, but his eyes shifted slowly from her to the figure behind.

However, this endlessly awkward situation, in fact, only remained so for 30 seconds.

And surprisingly, Ryoma was the first to break it.

"...Where's the toilet?"

Sakuno let out what sounded like half a laugh and half a sigh of relief, then pointed to a door on the left. "O-Over there."

"...huh." Ryoma lowered his white cap and strolled past her to push open the door.

After the wooden door swung shut behind him she let out a real sigh of relief. _Seems like he didn't see it_

_Hang on._

_Why do I still care?_

_I'm over him._

_I'm __**supposed**__ to be over him._

And so it was only hours later, after she had quickly revised the why-I-should-give-up-Ryoma-kun list in her head, that she realized there was an obvious sign on the toilet door indicating its location.

Ryoma could have easily spotted it himself and walked in anytime.

But he didn't.

* * *

**A/N : **Well, here's the end of the first chapter... Hope you liked it! The plot will be further developed in the following chapters so a change in Ryoma and Sakuno's relationship is assured... but whether it's in a good way or a bad way...it is for you to find out. ;) 

Thanks for reading and any reviews, critisisms, compliments, praises, encouragements, advices or any other unknown comments will be very gratefully accepted...


	2. Ambush

The stream of steaming white milk trickled soundlessly from the carton into the measuring pot filled with dark liquid chocolate. Sakuno watched, fascinated by the strange shapes swirling on the surface as it bloomed and withered like a flower's fast-forwarded life cycle.

It was her habit to bring a small thermal filled with hot chocolate to school everyday during winter. To sip on the thick sweet fluid in the bone-shattering cold is always a soothing relief; no matter what had happened during the course of that day.

Sakuno slowly stirred the milk into the chocolate with a wooden spoon, lips curving into a faint smile as the darkness lightened to a warm creamy shade of mousse. _Clockwise...anti-clockwise...clockwise..._Sakuno counted softly to herself as the spoon sliced through the richness causing foamy waves to splash against the inside of the glass container.

Perhaps it was the complicated coffee machines at the cafe, Sakuno found herself much more in favour of making hot chocolate than any sort of coffee. Her skills of smoothly blending chocolate with milk had even exceeded all her colleagues (not that it was a skill worth bragging about), but that was partly because she always tried to avoid touching the complex machines - which obviously meant more time is spent making other drinks…such as hot chocolate..

_Yes... Escaping from the reality...it's somewhat become a habit of mine recently..._

_I wasn't brave enough to confess my feelings to Ryoma-kun._

_Because I know he would refuse._

_I wasn't brave enough to accept the reality._

_Because I know the harshness would crush me._

_That's why I decided to give up, to move on._

_To escape._

Troubled, she poured the hot liquid into a pink travel-sized thermal.

_But is that...really the right choice...? _Sakuno put the thermal into her school bag, wedged between her history book and pencil case, and quietly slipped outside into the cool morning air with her racquets slung over her shoulder.

Even now she didn't know for sure.

* * *

The roads were still thick with snow as Sakuno tramped through the shredded ice with some degree of difficulty. Greyness stained the sky with just a shimmer of gold emerging from the east. The icy breeze tugged at Sakuno's plait playfully, twiisting it around in a circular movement, making it gleam under the faint morning glow.

The Seigaku High Girls' Tennis Club tennis courts were deserted except for a few wet tennis balls forgotten by the first years yesterday and had to suffer the shower of morning frost. Sakuno wasn't surprised, the girls' tennis club was no where near as strict as the boys' so morning practices were only required three days a week and before tournaments.

Sakuno put down her tennis bag and took out her racquet, its silvery strings shone dazzlingly in the early sun, revealing the cuts and scratches on the edges of the tennis racket. _I haven't improved all that much since four years ago...despite my grandmother being a tennis coach at one of the top tennis schools in Japan...it's almost __**beyond**__ embarrassing..._Sakuno sighed deeply and took out a tennis ball from her bag to begin practicing against the wall, her swift movements in time with the thudding of the ball, or rather the sloshing of the ball, for the outdoor tennis courts were also covered with a soft sheet of snow from last night's heavy fall.

_Slosh._

_This really doesn't feel right... somehow..._

_Slosh._

_... Is it my knees?_

_Slosh._

_...or is it-_

"Your shoulders." A cold voice suddenly spoke out from the exterior of the courts. It struck the girl like a bolt of lightning. "They're still too wide."

Sakuno froze and missed the ball as it bounced back for the forth time. She spun around and caught sight of a boy's profile visible just outside the loops of wires, leaning against a tree with his arms cushioning his head. His eyes were closed and his expression looked bored, yet...somehow... shadowed with a faint wariness.

Ryoma.

"R-Ryoma-kun! Don't scare me like that!" Sakuno gasped and accused him without a second thought.

"…Oh, _Sorry, sorry_." Ryoma raised an eyebrow as he stuffed his hands into the pockets in his uniform trousers before walking off towards the main school building.

"Don't mind me." He did a wave - or rather, a flick of his hand - over his shoulder.

"Uh... Ryoma-kun! W-Wait a minute! I'm sorry..." Regret gripped Sakuno as she called out in panic. The last thing she wanted to see was Ryoma walking off offended by her own words.

Ryoma stopped in his tracks and glanced back. "...for?"

"Err... f-for offending you... by telling you not to creep up on me..." Sakuno's voice grew quieter, she hated herself for stuttering in front of Ryoma, but it had become quite a habit, thanks to the rare amount of attention he gives her.

"Are you an idiot?" Ryoma sighed and turned his eyes back to the pathway. "I'm not _that_ pathetic."

_As cold as always... _A sad smiled touched her lips.

_Although it has truly been a while since he last watched me practice..._

_Hmm, can't blame him though, he's usually too busy to mind other people's business..._

_Hey, wait a minute..._

Sakuno paused abruptly, her forgotten tennis ball lay soaking in a puddle of melted snow. She studied his clothes curiously.

"Er...Ryoma-kun... Don't you still have morning practice for the tennis club? Why do you already have your school uniform on? "Sakuno called with a frown.

"...Practice was about an hour ago." Ryoma's tone of voice slightly gave away the smirk on his face. "Your world is unfortunately a _bit_ behind..."

_As usual. _he added silently in his mind.

"W-What? _An hour _ago?" Sakuno's eyes bulged as she hastily stuffed her racquet and tennis ball into her bag and ran to Ryoma's side, panting hard from trying to keep up with his brisk pace. "Aww...I was hoping I could be on time for once..."

Ryoma looked away so she wouldn't see the glowing amusement in his eyes.

The fresh snow which had fallen last night felt as soft as feathers under their feet. Sakuno was almost pained to see the shimmering whiteness ruined by two sets of footprints --- Ryoma's and her own. The naked branches of an oak tree creaked and groaned as if the playful fingers of the wind were trying to snap them without enough force.

She lifted up her hand to shadow her eyes from the brilliant streams of sunshine. The winter sun had always seemed, to Sakuno, as if it had been carefully enfolded within layers of tissue paper, as if it was too delicate to be exposed to the cold or it would shatter into a million pieces and leave the world in eternal darkness. Because its warm rays always seemed so weak and tender, like loving hands caressing a dearly loved treasure. Wisps of white clouds floated in a background of diluted aqua, like precious remains of cotton candy sweetening as each moment went by...

"...that was unusual...seeing you practise in the morning." Ryoma's voice was as calm as a lake on a windless night, and as cool as the rippling water in the lake.

Sakuno blushed and smiled a little, making a face in an attempt to hide her embarrassment.

"...just thought I needed it."

"...oh, you _are_ aware of that?"

Sakuno flushed but retorted with a twinge of bitterness. "Having once been the coach, shouldn't you be saying _encouraging_ things?"

Ryoma seemed mildly surprised at this remark, for he turned his head ever so slightly towards the girl walking beside him, and hesitated before replying "Why should I?"

Sakuno glared at him in disbelief. Yet as she saw no point in reasoning with the tennis star, for the instant she thought of a comeback Ryoma had stopped abruptly outside their classroom on the second floor.

"...Stay away from me."

The brief command stabbed mercilessly into the girl's heart, she _must_ have heard it wrong.

"E-Eh?"

"Stay here until I've gone in first."

"Wha-?"

Silenced by a wave of Ryoma's hand, Sakuno watched in confusion as Ryoma silently moved up to their classroom door and closed his hand around the doorknob as carefully as possible, as if he was afraid to wake a ferocious beast from hibernation. The door creaked open, inch by inch, as a gap just big enough for an arm slowly opened in front of him.

At first Sakuno thought he was simply feeling ashamed at the idea of walking into a room with her.

However, as the gap in the doorway widened to a size which would have barely allowed a body through, but enough for people in the class to catch a full view of the door-opener, she soon realized it may not have been the case. For along with a chorus of ear-splitting screams, a frighteningly large group of young squealing girls stormed out of the classroom, shoving the metal door back with a loud bang.

Within seconds, the tall figure of Echizen Ryoma had completely vanished from view behind the flood of ecstatic high school girls and a net of arms holding cameras and cell phones above their heads.

Sakuno could only shake her head in disgust.

After mentally preparing for a brutal battle, she managed to fight her way past the growing wall of girls surrounding the Prince (although not without being close to the state of unconsciousness) and stumbled into the classroom in a worse condition than she would have had had she run around the tennis courts twenty times. She rubbed her arm and winced when she accidentally pressed a tender part of a bruise, a result of being knocked down by a rather muscular girl a split second before she broke through the doorway.

She flopped down onto her chair in a bad mood, and straightened her uniform as best as she could.

Glancing back at the classroom doorway, she thought she caught a blur of emerald hair behind several girls' pale long legs, although it probably was a trick of light, because the next second the baffled tennis star fell into his seat behind her, panting hard and cursing under his breath as he threw down his school bag onto the desk. Sakuno had to stifle a laugh when she saw how beaten he looked, but was taken by surprise when he lifted his piercing amber eyes to stare straight into her own.

"I thought I told you to wait until I've come in." Ryoma's tone was sharply edged with irritation.

She hesitated as her guilt unwillingly grew, but was surprised at the steadiness of her own voice when she replied.

"Well, at the rate you were moving, I couldn't have come in safely 'til spring." As if her sealed rebellion spirit had finally been awakened, her retort was followed by an annoyed glare.

Ryoma lifted an eyebrow at this unexpected burst of temper from a normally shy girl, but shrugged as he broke their eye contact.

"You could've waited for a bit longer."

"Oh, so now _I_ have to obey the Prince as well, do I?"

"You don't know how brutal some of them are."

"Hmph... since _when_ has the almighty Prince worried about _me_?" Sakuno shot back scornfully. She heard what she suspected to be a snort as the boy in front of her lowered his head into his folded arms on the desk.

"Please don't overrate yourself," his voice was muffled through his uniform, but Sakuno could still detect the iciness in his tone, "you don't deserve that."

Silence.

Sakuno flushed as shock, anger, and a thousand other emotions rushed through her veins in one great explosion. She whipped her head back to the front of the classroom.

_How does he always stab people where it hurts the most?_

_Why does he do it when he __**knows**__ it only pains others?_

_But the scariest thing is…_

_I don't know if I l hate it, or love it._

_Even when it's used against me._

Calmness was slipping away; she could feel it, feel the emotions wash over her in gigantic tumultuous waves.

Even as she closed her eyes she could feel tears threatening to tumble out from under her eyelids, and her heart ached when she heard the boy's breathing gradually slowing to a rhythmic rustle in his shirt.

* * *

Sakuno handed the English paper back to the teacher with a heavy sigh.

_There is no way I can get better at this weird language. _she thought, followed with another troubled sigh. She glanced in Ryoma's direction as she had casually (she hoped) done a few times during the test, and wasn't surprised to find him asleep - again - for he had handed the test in nearly forty minutes ago, forty minutes ahead of everyone else in the class.

Sakuno shook her head to force the Ryoma-kun-is-so-good-at-everything thought out of her mind, and returned to her desk to take out her packed lunch. She heard a yawn sounding from behind her and caught sight of Ryoma standing up drowsily and swinging his tennis bag over his shoulder as he strolled out of the classroom, without so much as a glance in her direction.

It almost seemed like he was_ avoiding_ her eyes.

But why?

He had no reason to.

She took a deep breath and lightly slapped her own cheeks to prevent further thoughts about him.

_Stop this nonsense._

_He doesn't care the slightest about me._

_And now...he's going to another lunchtime tennis practice, no doubt. _Sakuno predicted as his tall figure disappeared down the corridor, then followed soon afterwards by various groups of squealing girls giggling and murmuring about something to do with "Echizen-senpai". _...and, as usual, watched by his whole Fanclub._ She was quite certain of _that_ prediction.

Her rectangular lunchbox was filled to the rim with mouth-watering delicacies.

Roasted sausages were carved into tiny octopuses which seemed to have been caught crawling across the field of rice that glistened like smoothed shards of milky white pearls. In the opposite corner there were neatly cut vegetables, the perfect orange cubes of carrots were scattered among the bush of green like early chrysanthemums. In a small plate of silver tinfoil lay rolled fried eggs, with a coat of creamy yellow dotted with bursts of white stars.

The irresistible sight of her lunchbox attracted many envious looks as Sakuno picked at its colourful contents with her dainty chopsticks.

No appetite.

Despite her anger, she could not ignore the guilt seeping through from the depth of her conscience. She knew Ryoma meant well by telling her to "stay away from him", yet she had not only ignored his warning - and gotten hurt as a result - but also offended him afterwards when he warned her again.

Her mind became restless as she remembered Ryoma's cool attitude after the ambush and the slightly taken back expression after her retort to his perfectly normal question. Sighing, she placed the lid back on her lunch box, the food forgotten and barely touched.

_It's not like I don't know his coldness._

_I do know._

_I know it all too well._

..._that's why I shouldn't be worked up over one little insult._

She laughed quietly at herself and shook her head.

_God, I am hopeless..._

_My heart is as soft as cream._

_After all these hesitation..._

_... it seems like apologizing is the only choice after all._

Having made up her mind, Sakuno pulled out her pink thermal container and hugged it to her chest as she quietly slipped out into the blistering cold.

* * *

**A/N: **Thank You for all of those stunning people who reviewed this story... I am encouraged! BURNING (Kawamura style) Sorry this chapter was a bit slow... but all the drama is yet to come...(chuckle) I'll do my best to update as soon as possible :)

Please enjoy and tell me what you think!


	3. The English Test

"Game won by Echizen! Five games to two!"

Echizen Ryoma bounced the small yellow ball with his left hand, a famous posture symbolizing the coming of a twist serve.

He threw the ball into the air, and smacked it hard towards his opponent, a first-year boy with shoulder-length black hair, timid brown eyes and a pale face, which was at that moment flushed with the heat of embarrassment.

The ball whizzed above the net and accurately landed by the boy's foot, spinning madly for a split second before flying back up, straight at the boy's face. The boy let out a yelp of surprise before falling backward to dodge the attack. It was another point for Ryoma... and, not surprisingly, an ace ball.

But Ryoma was far from happy. He twirled his racket restlessly around his hands as he drew out another tennis ball from his shorts pocket. His concentration had long gone. The idea that this inexperienced first-year could scrap two games away from him would have seemed absurd to him at the beginning of this match, yet his Drive B did not seem to want to cooperate as it refused to bounce _inside_ the bold white lines.

Ryoma frowned with deepening frustration as the high-pitched cheers of his female fans pierced the air and worsened his mood. _How can they scream all day and not be hearing-impaired? _he wondered as he shot them another warning glare, which he soon regretted as even_ that _roused another wave of girly giggles.

He simply gave up and tried to block out all unnecessary sounds as he sent the ball flying down the court so fast that the first-year opponent didn't even notice it had been served until it hit its target and rebounded off the gymnasium wall, then shot in the direction of a group of girls standing beside it. The female spectators immediately burst into terrified gasps and fearful whimpers.

"Forty-love."

Ryoma's eyes were cold as he reached up to lower his cap.

"You still have lots more to work on."

He spun the ball with his fingers and hit it as an underarm serve; it was an imitation of Fuji Syusuke's Disappearing Serve. The ball shot over the net like a bullet and, all of a sudden, changed direction, making the boy flush as his racket did an empty swing and froze in mid-air.

"_Bingo_," Ryoma whispered with another cold smirk which drove the girly screams to an ear-splitting climax.

"Game and Match, Won by Echizen."

Ryoma stepped forward to the net to shake hands with the young boy, and demonstrated his bad habit without a second thought.

"Try shaving off those dreadlocks." A cool advice. "If your tennis doesn't improve, at least your looks will." Followed by an equally cool insult.

The boy lowered his head and Ryoma could see, with a small sense of satisfaction, his ears turning to the colour of beetroot.

Ryoma managed to escape to the vending machines after the practice match (although the match didn't _quite_ serve as a practice). He inspected the scratches and bruises that had been the consequence of breaking through the group of his "fans" guarding the exit (as they ridiculously call themselves, for they abused him more often than he remembered cheering for him), and dropped a few coins into the machine for his usual Grape Ponta at lunch break.

The icy liquid felt marvelously refreshing after the exercise, even though it was freezing outside the crowded gymnasium. Ryoma strolled outside with his can of juice in one hand and was grateful for the rare moment of peace and privacy. He took a deep breath of fresh air and felt it rush down his windpipe. He could almost taste the distinctive scent of snow in his mouth.

Yet one thought disrupted his quiet state of mind like a rock being thrown into a pond, causing ripples to spread further and further until it vibrated his whole brain.

Yes, he was well aware of the fact that he had offended Ryuzaki when he had shot back something insulting... which he couldn't even_ remember_ now.

And indeed, he did_ not_ regret saying that. For it had been _she _who had not followed his advice and bolted head-first into the crazy group of girls. But...he couldn't help thinking what happened during the English test was...peculiar. So peculiar it almost made him doubt the harshness of his words.

Ryoma kicked a piece of pebble out of his way and watched as it rolled through the slushy snow and fell through a hole in the rusty gutter.

* * *

_He had handed the English paper back in to the teacher after only spending fifteen minutes on the questions. _

_Rather amused by the shocked and slightly purple face of his English teacher, he had returned to his seat to casually settle down for a nap. Yet it was only ten minutes before his sixth sense tingled with a feeling of being watched, making him rouse his head from his folded arms with self-consciousness._

_Then his eyes met hers._

_Those intense chocolaty eyes staring down at him from the seat in front of his. However, it was only for an instant - almost immediately upon seeing his face she had turned back to her test. Noneheless, he thought he caught...a crumbling sadness and a shimmer of moisture. The mixture of emotions shown in that one look had __**his**__ feelings erupting into chaos. Although he repressed the urge to grab her, question her, and even __**comfort **__her, he continued to stare at the girl's long silky braids streaming down her back as confusion swarmed inside his mind._

_Confusion for why he would even __**care**__ about one look. One look from a girl who could barely be considered as an acquaintance…_

_Five minutes passed._

_Ten minutes._

_... she never turned around again._

_Ryoma's neck began to stiffen as his sharp golden eyes studied the back of her head and trailed down to her shoulders as they gently rose and fell in time with her breathing. Then the absurdity of the situation struck him. He had just wasted ten precious minutes of sleep. For... absolutely nothing._

_The classroom was silent except for the soft scratches of graphite against paper and the occasional groans and sighs and other expressions of stress._

This is stupid... _But just as he had reached the conclusion that the glance had been a mere hallucination (though __**why**__ he would have such hallucinations he had absolutely no idea) and was just about to ease back into a blissful snooze, when the ribbons in front of his face - the ribbons that held together her plait - quivered._

_His eyes snapped up to catch, this time in perfect timing, the dark brown eyes and the sadness that glowed from within the depth of her inky pupils._

_His heart did a full somersault within his rib cage and he thought it was a wonder no one else in the classroom heard the gurgle._

_**That **__time he was sure the look had not been an illusion, for Ryuzaki's eyes did not leave his for three full seconds as they widened in surprise and then in... embarrassment? Guilt? God, there was too much he couldn't understand about that look._

_At that precise moment, however, a loud thud interrupted the awkwardness. It echoed around the room as Ryoma caught sight of a book on the top of Ryuzaki's head, followed by the angry barks of a mad and suspicious English tutor standing next to her, having sneaked up before neither her or Ryoma had the chance to notice._

"_I'm surprised at you, Ryuzaki. We are doing an __**English test **__here, in case you haven't noticed, and I will not -__**I repeat **__- will __**NOT**__ have your eyes wandering around at other people's work and __**especially**__ not at __**BOYS**__, no matter how __**popular **__they are at school." The clear voice of the teacher rang around the class and a few people snickered._

_Her face glowed as red as cherries and she lowered her head in shame with a soft reply of "Yes, Sir."_

_It had been so unlike him. But Ryoma had experienced another sudden urge._.. _the second within ten minutes._

_Although this time it was to whip out his tennis racquet and smash it over the teacher's ugly balding head. _

* * *

The pebble dropped to the underground pipes with a soft watery '_plop'_.

* * *

**A/N: **Hey everyone! A huge thank you to all of those fabulous reviewers again... if I find time I promise I will thank you individually :) Sorry about this chapter which does not seem to have any point _so far... _I know you are probably expecting to see Sakuno's appology in this one...However, I can assure you the next chapter will be a lot more...interactive. I'll do my best to satisfy the wishes of most readers... but please don't be offended if the story turns out otherwise!

Once again, I would be honoured if you can just drop a few comments in the review page...feel free to make any suggestions or constructive critisisms or encouragements...maybe even some recommendations for the plot development! There's nothing better than getting inspired by ideas of readers. I'll update as soon as I can!


	4. Ponta vs Hot Chocolate

_The pebble dropped to the underground pipes with a soft watery 'plop__'…_

Ryoma's fingers had long gone numb from holding the frozen can of Ponta in the bone-shattering cold. He placed the empty can by where he had sat down under a tree, pressing faint circular patterns onto the tiny shards of broken ice. Eyes closed, he reflected on the English test as his eyebrows furrowed in thought.

_Why were her eyes so...weird? A little sad yet...a little thoughtful. Could it be because...that she was intensely hungry and in her desperation for food turned to me as a final resort? Or that I had something obvious and stupid stuck onto my face? Or perhaps that she was making an obvious attempt at trying out a creepy spell from those brainless horoscope books girls waste their money on? But regardless of how dumb she is...she should know better than doing whatever she was doing in the middle of a test...unless- _His eyes sprang open in realisation, but were instantly squeezed shut again due to the blinding sun rays.

...Since she didn't seem the type of girl to go on a diet and starve themselves to death with only a piece of toast for breakfast and lunch, or the type of girl to chuckle behind his back about a wee piece of seaweed on his lip, not to mention the type to go purchase brainless spell books and try their contents on an innocent classmate (he hoped), then the only logical explanation for her 'looks' would be-

_-because she couldn't do the test questions and expected me to help her. Heh...but did she really expect me to give the answers to her? How? By winking or tapping the Morse code?_He smirked at the thought of him with a twitching eyelid after 'hinting' thirty answers.

_... well, too bad, it's her fault she didn't study._

Ryoma arrived at the conclusion with a satisfied sigh. Yet he still could not wave the image of her eyes away, no matter how much he wanted to forget it... at least temporarily. He tried taking a nap under the golden spill of sunshine, but as soon as he closed his eyes the darkness in the girl's eyes haunted his mind, like a magnet sucking his drifting concentration back to the same place regardless of his attempts to focus on an irrelevant subject... eventually, he gave up. For nothing could be done when even memories of his cat Karupin failed to overcome the one of the English test.

Sitting up, he tried watching the tennis matches between a few enthusiastic first-year students, but he soon found them so dull and slow-paced that it was really no different from taking a nap. So he lay back down and, in his extreme desperation, attempted to imitate the female species and gazed up at the clouds drifting over the watery sky, trying to come up with objects the wisps of white fluff most resemble. However, that only made matters worse, for the silvery froths only reminded him of the silver ribbons the girl wore in her hair at the English test.

Ryoma gritted his teeth in frustration as he sat up to brush snow off his regular's jacket. He slowly stood up and strolled over to his final and most trustworthy resort - another vending machine. The coins jingled in his pocket as he fumbled for spare change. But before he could scooped out the three coins he touched, a voice that sounded behind him made him freeze on the spot.

"Ryoma-kun...!! Thank goodness...I couldn't find you anywhere..." Sakuno jogged up to him with a pink thermal container clutched in one hand and a small fluffy sports towel in the other. She was puffing violently and her short breaths exploded into clouds of white smoke in the bitter cold.

Ryoma shot a sideway glance at her but said nothing as he dropped a couple of coins into the machine and worked the buttons with obvious familiarity. The machine rumbled and spat out, to Sakuno's surprise, _two_ cans of Grape Ponta.

_Since when has he doubled the amount? That's bad for him, doubling the amount of sugar!...but I guess he does exercise -_

"What do you want?" Ryoma's cool voice broke her train of thoughts as he scooped up the two drinks.

"Uh…I won't have anything, thanks-"

"...I mean, 'why are you here?'" It took all of his strength not to smirk.

"Oh." Her cheeks coloured furiously. "Err...I thought I'd catch you during the practice match..."

"Gee, I think you might be _just_ a bit late for that."

Sakuno flinched at his harsh sarcasm, and, to Ryoma's regret, the faint light of sadness flickered back into her eyes.

"Can we...talk?" Sakuno asked as firmly as she could manage.

"I'd presume so... we _are_ both humans, right?"

She flushed again. "I mean - uh - I need to -..._Oh_ never mind! Can we just... sit down for a bit?"

Ryoma glared at her for a moment but mumbled an assent and walked over to where his tennis bag and an empty can of Ponta lay under the shade of the tree. Flopping down on the ground beside it, he waited.

Sakuno followed him and carefully sat down beside him on the snow. She smoothed her skirt and set the thermal in front of her. He watched her in mild fascination as she gracefully took off the lid of the container - which also served as a cup - and poured a stream of rich sweet-smelling liquid into it. For a moment he thought she was just going to warm her hands with it, for she gently cupped the container with both hands, but that simply proved to be an act of caution as she held the cup out to him.

"Here, drink it before it cools." Her tone showed a rare hint of authority as she gazed at him with a set expression. "It's my treat."

Although suspicious, Ryoma took it without a word and looked at her expectantly.

"Drink it," She urged with a faint smile, "...it's not poisoned."

Ryoma glared and replied: "You want to prove that?" and was slightly amused to see the immediate affect of his words as her pale face flushed to an attractive shade of pink. No doubt she was thinking about the 'indirect kiss' theory. But, being unusually 'food-irresistant' (_as is the nature of a true sportsman_, he insisted), he decided to lower his defence, just a little, and to take a sip of the steaming chocolaty drink in his hands as asked of him.

The thick fluid filled his mouth with heat and froth as he felt small lumps of milk chocolate melting on his tongue. The soothing liquid warmed his throat as it slid down his oesophagus and then pooled in the pit of his stomach. The flavour was heavenly and the aroma which filled his nostrils was beyond description. It took him every bit of self-control not to drain the whole cup in one greedy slurp.

Although when he did set his cup down - now only half-full - he was annoyed to see the delight and satisfaction written on Sakuno's face as she observed his expression, but had to admit that her hot chocolate was delicious beyond anything he had ever drunken...

Save, perhaps, Grape Ponta, as he stubbornly reminded himself.

"Is it good?"

"...huh?"

"The hot chocolate I made."

"...wouldn't it be harder to make _bad_ hot chocolate?"

Sakuno sighed and sat back with a bitter smile. _I guess that's the closest thing to a compliment that I'll ever hear from Ryoma-kun..._She spoke quietly, calmly, as the strong aroma of chocolate wafted around them.

"...I came to... uh...apologize."

When she didn't receive any response, she turned to the boy next to her and saw that, even though his eyes were focused on some distant object straight ahead, he appeared to be listening.

"I'm sorry...for getting mad when you were only trying to warn me. I didn't mean to be so rude..." She trailed off and let the silence smoothen out her awkwardness. The cool breeze rustled the bushes behind them, sounding almost like the gentle laps of ocean waves.

There was a long period of silence, when Ryoma tried to mask his tumbling emotions with cool composure and Sakuno attempted to restore her confidence. However, before either of them could sink too deep into their own thoughts, Sakuno pulled herself out and drew the other boy from his by pointing to the cup in his hand.

"Seconds?"

Ryoma hesitated but couldn't refuse when she took the cup from his hands. Touching his cap in a gesture of thanks as she handed it back to him, he took out one of the cans of Ponta he had just bought and held it out.

"...Trade."

Sakuno's eyebrows shot up in astonishment but, after a brief pause, she took it from Ryoma's fingers with a smile and pulled on the metal ring. The light purple foam fizzed out of the hole like a sparkling fountain of amethyst. She hesitantly lifted it to her lips just as she heard Ryoma add in a barely audible mumble:

"How can you find the 'how did Jane arrive at school?' and 'what flavour was the ice-cream?' rubbish difficult?"

She choked. A thin line of purple liquid dribbled down her chin but it was neatly wiped away with a swift swipe of her handkerchief.

"W-What?"

"The English test, you seemed stuck." He lay back onto the ground with his emerald green hair nestled in his arms. Strangely, he felt unusually relaxed next to this...girl, possibly even more so than when he was alone. Because when he was by himself...the fear of being attacked by random girls never left his conscience, it haunted him like an evil phantom. At least with Ryuzaki, he knew she wouldn't just suddenly cling onto him begging for a photo or a date.

"I wasn't stuck..."

"Why were you looking at me, then?" His golden eyes were emotionless. Impossible as it may sound, he was obviously still unaware of the main reason for which girls would normally look at him.

Sakuno blushed slightly and said in a tiny voice. "At least I wasn't stuck on_ that _bit..."

"But you were stuck?" He extended a finger to push his cap forward so that the white rim could shade his eyes from the glare of the snow.

She hesitated and fingered her braid in embarrassment, but finally did a tiny nod. Ryoma noted with quiet amusement as her face deepened to a shade of scarlet. Therefore, even though he heaved a heavy sigh, the boy sat up and reached into his tennis bag. The object he was looking for was buried under his three precious racquets and a mountain of tennis balls, he fished it out and tapped it on her shoulder.

"Which part?"

Surprise flooded over her as her eyes landed on the English textbook on her shoulderblade. The textbook with the initials "E.R" scribbled on the top. She gulped nervously, but the feeling which bloomed within her was not an unpleasant one. Taking the textbook, she flipped through the pages until she found one which has an underlined title of "Prepositions".

"Um...I had trouble with the sentences that we had to correct in the test...but Ryoma-kun doesn't have to teach me...I mean, if it's too much hassle..." She lowered her face and murmured quickly in an attempt to express her thoughts.

Ryoma smirked lightly. Normally girls would be fighting - yes, _literally_ fighting - over such an opportunity for him to teach them English. _Looks like this particular one is a little different than them, though._

"Don't misunderstand. I don't _want_ to teach you, but I don't want to be blamed again for the fact that someone was _looking_ at me, either," he mumbled.

Her eyes darkened. "I wasn't looking at you _just _because I needed your-"

"OK, let's start from the basics," he interrupted and pointed to a sentence on the page. He wanted to finish this as quickly as possible, before some nosy member of his fanclub discover them. "_He is in the car_...what's the preposition?"

"Err...is it _in_...?"

"Right, so _in _here is the word used before the noun _the car_, and so it relates him to the car." He tapped the words in turn with his explanation. Then his fingers moved down the page to indicate another sentence.

"What about this one..._Venice is a place I should like to go to._..??"

_Ryoma-kun is really teaching me... _Sakuno's lips slowly curled into a smile. A smile of gratitude, disbelief, and joy...

Ryoma saw the sad glow diminish. Instead, the warmth and laughter had returned to those deep hazel eyes, the eyes that were, slowly but undeniably, drawing him closer and closer to her, the girl who both intrigued and amused him.

Slowly, the wheel of destiny moved. Slowly, like soundless trickles of sand in an hourglass. Unnoticed, but undeniable through the passing of time...

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you so much for all the supportive reviews and constructive citicisms...My energy and enthusiasm is restored immensely every time someone shows their interest in the story and characters :) (Ahh...the wonderful 'ding' when a review sends to my account has indescribable effect on my mood) 

Sorry that the update took a bit longer this time... in fact, the update times may be further and further apart in the future. Even though I am very very_ very _sorry, school exams are horrible, evil, nasty things that should not have come into existence in the first place...and perhaps I'm even more horrible, evil and nasty to blame them for slow updates but, as much as I'd love to rebel, I can't really do much about them. So _please_ bear with me for a month or two...OO

Cheers!


	5. A Painful Warning

The red polka-dotted wrapping paper slipped from Sakuno's hands as she let out a squeal of excitement. On the table in front of her was a flat oblong-shaped box, and inside it, embedded in a sea of glittering tissue paper, lay five sets of new hairclips with five different designs embossed onto the oval copper plates on each pin. Sakuno drew in a sharp breath as she picked up a hairclip at the right side of the gift box and watched the shiny metal glow softly under the morning rays. The pattern on the hairclip in her hand was that of a tennis ball lying on a bed of embossed grass and surrounded by dainty little daisies.

"They're _beautiful_... thank you so much, Grandma!" Sakuno's eyes lit up with joy as she carefully pinned the hairclip into place above her ear.

"You're welcome... Surely you'll receive more presents at school?" Ryuzaki Sumire smiled kindly at her granddaughter as she stirred the miso soup bubbling away on the stove.

"I hope not," Sakuno replied honestly. After all, the memory of receiving a rubber eyeball on her last birthday, with fake blood squirted all over it wasn't as easily forgotten as she had anticipated, although she added good-humouredly: "Plus, no one else will probably remember my birthday anyway."

"Is that so? ...Personally I'd like to see what Ryoma will give you-"

"Oh _Please_, Grandma! If he remembers my birthday then I swear I would chop off _both_ of my arms and present them to you."

"-or is it _Akito-kun _now?" Sumire chuckled when she saw the flinch and the blush that slowly crept up her granddaughter's neck.

_If it's Akito-kun…then maybe he would remember… _Sakuno thought with a glimmer of hope. Then she shook her head as she told herself not to expect too much from him. _We have only known each other for a few months after all. _She sighed as she carefully placed the birthday present from her grandmother on the chair next to her to make room for breakfast.

_Unlike someone…who has known me for four years and still has no clue about which month - or which _**__****year**_, for that matter- my birthday is in._

Sumire smiled as she watched her granddaughter's arched eyebrows furrow together into a frown as she pondered over her "troublesome love life" and placed a plate of pan-fried fish and a bowl of streaming hot rice in front of Sakuno.

* * *

Mornings at the Echizen household are always chaotic.

First, Ryoma was awoken by a screech from his pet cat Karupin as his owner accidentally pressed his tail while shifting under his thick feather duvet. Tried to sit up, but failed miserably as he lost his balance and tumbled out of bed onto the freezing wooden floor. Then, scrambling up drowsily, he peered at the green flashing digits on his alarm clock through a pair of tired hazy eyes.

_6:43am_

He groaned, yawned, and buried his face in his hands. But, knowing he'd have to endure the torture of having no breakfast that morning if he didn't get up on time, he pulled on his school uniform reluctantly, just in time to hear his cousin, Nanako's call for breakfast. After several loud curses during an attempt to find his school bag under the hills of wrinkled clothes and shorts, he successfully arrived at the dining table, although still in a half-asleep state.

"...Western _again_?" Ryoma grumbled in complaint at the food in front of him. His mood was worsening by the seconds.

"Be grateful, young man, for any food prepared for you," Echizen Nanjirou said with mock sternness behind the newspaper.

"I don't need _you_ to tell me that," Ryoma shot back grumpily and chewed a corner off his toast.

"Hmm…let's see, let's see…ahh, the world sure _is_ filled with filth…with the petrol prices rising, murders and robberies everywhere-"

"Uncle! You are reading dirty magazines _again_! I should really tell Aunty about all those magazines you hide behind the shoe cupboard-"

"Arrgh! W-WAIT! Give it back to me and don't tell Rinko… I'll do anything!"

Ryoma sighed as the argument followed along the usual lines of "True men should read dirty magazines" and "Concentrate on eating breakfast", it seemed like he couldn't get any peace at home either, yet perhaps it was better that way...at least now he wouldn't be hassled by his wise father about having a blonde girlfriend in New York.

After a nasty verbal fight resulting in the confiscation of the magazine, Nanjirou had no choice but to _actually_ read the newspaper. He spread the newspaper on the table in front of him and scanned the contents as he spooned porridge into his mouth.

"Well, the world _is_ depressing, I didn't need to_ read_ this to know…look at all these death notices…Hmmm, although the birth ones aren't that few either…births…" Nanjirou scratched his head as he stared at the columns of newborn's names.

"…Speaking of births, that old hag spoke of something last night on the phone…what the hell-" Suddenly he slapped the table in remembrance.

"A-HA! I _knew_ I'd remember! Young man, today is a special day, y'know?" Nanjirou slurred in excitement as his eyes shone with mischief.

Ryoma ignored him, as he so often did in the morning.

"Young man! Are you listening to me!? You really don't know what day today is? Tut, tut…how can I have such an idiot for a son!? _Today_ is the birthday of the old hag's cute granddaughter! How can you _possibly_ forget?"

"…So?" Ryoma continued to scoop bacon and eggs into his mouth, although his cold honey-coloured eyes have opened just a fraction wider.

"_So _it is_ now_ that you should give the girl something that shows your _affection _for her, like flowers or chocolates or-"

"She has nothing to do with me." Ryoma cut his father off coldly.

"Denial only makes it more suspicious!" Nanjirou sang gleefully and slapped his son on the shoulder, hard.

"Aww, look at _Ryoma-sama, _getting all worked up over a _girl_-"

"Shut up, Old Man." Ryoma brushed Nanjirou's hand off and stood up to put his empty plates in the sink. "I'm going now."

He swung his tennis bag over his shoulder and practically sprinted out of the doorway. Relieved for the escape, he closed the gate and heard it click shut behind him before he set off in the direction of Seisshun Gakuen High School.

* * *

Even though she had sensed a dawning disaster before school on the morning of her seventeenth birthday, Sakuno had not expected to be ambushed the minute she stepped through the school gates.

She fought to remain calm in front of her pursuers, five third-year girls whom she recognized to be some of the senior members in Ryoma's Fan Club. They had cornered her in the girls' changing rooms before she had the chance to get changed for her morning tennis practice, and were all glaring at her with hatred as if she had killed their tennis idol – who Sakuno presumed to be the reason for this…_ friendly _encounter. Sakuno trembled slightly but balled her hands into fists as she prepared to fight back. _After all, I can't depend on other people now. It's win-all or lose-all._

"You think you're so marvellous, don't you? Snuggling up to Echizen-kun like that? We saw you. We _all _saw you running off to him last week with a _towel_…what, you think he'd need to wipe away the tears of frustration caused by your presence?" A slim girl with makeup caked on her skin purred dangerously.

"Only because you're his old coach's granddaughter doesn't mean you can go _flirting_ with him whenever you want to, it's disgusting," The girl standing nearest to Sakuno added in a tone as icy as her gleaming golden eyes. "I mean, you're not even in the Fanclub... didn't deserve the place, I dare say."

"Gosh, the second-years are _so_ arrogant these days, don't you agree? ...They think they can just climb on top of us and order us around, it's time_ some_ of them are put into their right places," Another girl with ghostly pale skin hissed and reached out a hand to grab Sakuno's right arm. Sakuno shivered at the coldness of the hand gripping onto her. It was like a ring of ice cuffed around her bare skin.

"You know, doing this proves you don't have the_ guts_ to fight back," Sakuno gathered up her courage and said with, what she hoped to be, equal coldness, although, to her dismay, she could detect the faint tremble in her voice as she added: "You don't have what it takes to even attract his attention-"

The sentence was cut off by a sharp slap from the girl with cold golden eyes. Her cheek stung from the sudden attack and her eyes watered from the burning pain, yet she clenched her fist and continued, "-and you know it."

"Oooh, I'm so scared! The little second-year is talking back!" A fourth girl with misty brown eyes said shrilly, the mock fear in her voice made Sakuno's skin crawl.

The girl who spoke first pulled out a mirror from her skirt pocket and flipped it open to reapply her lip-gloss, although she already had enough to make her lips look five times thicker and oilier. Looking up with a sneer, she spoke up once again.

"Let's show her that we _can_ fight back… why don't we leave a _mark_ somewhere visible on her? …Like a kind of_ warning_ to the other girls, to let them know the _consequences_…?"

"You mean… like a cut or something?" A small girl who had kept quiet all this time suddenly piped up from behind the other over-powering voices. Sakuno's heart went cold.

The girl who grabbed Sakuno's arm grinned and for a terrifying instant, her eyes shone with a hunger for blood. "On her face?"

"On her face!" The make-up girl agreed and, much to Sakuno's horror, slowly drew out a penknife from her school bag.

Sakuno gulped but there was nowhere else for her to retreat to. She tried shouting for help, but the quiet girl had clamped a sweaty hand over her mouth to prevent that. She struggled and attempted to break through the group to the door, but they pinned her against the lockers with such brutality that she thought it was a miracle that her arms hadn't snapped. It was obvious the third-years were overjoyed to see the fear spilling out from her eyes; the sharp silver blade gained speed as it gradually inched closer to her cheek. Sakuno felt a scream gurgling at the back of her throat but could do nothing as she sensed the cold metal denting her skin. Hopelessness made her eyes squeeze shut, but they flew open involuntarily as the tip of the knife pieced her flesh and she felt an incredible burst of pain shoot through her nerves.

Sweat broke over her forehead as she bit her lip to hold back a gasp. Worse still, the pain did not stop there. It burned and churned in her stomach as the blade sliced a long curve down to her chin and did a final vicious stab before it was pulled out, leaving a fiery red mark in the shape of a crescent moon.

Blood surged.

It poured down the side of her face as Sakuno was released and as she sank onto the floor in agony, dripping fresh red dots onto the ground and her skirt. The pain was still ripping through her face when she heard the girls back away from her, obviously alarmed by the amount of blood spilling out from her the wound they had caused.

Murmuring "That should do it…" and "let's go before anyone else sees…", the group slipped out with a hurried slam of the changing room door.

Soon the deserted girls' changing room was completely silent apart from the sound of Sakuno's heavy breathing; still in a stunned state of fright and with brilliant red liquid streaming down her face like stained tears. She could even taste the distinctive metallic tang on her tongue as it trickled through the corners of her mouth.

It was not until some fans' sudden roar of victory broke out on the nearby tennis courts that she snapped out of the blank devastation. She drew in a sharp breath as she lifted a trembling hand to her damp face, now coated with a mixture of both blood and tears, then glanced down at the small pool of blood she had unconsciously made kneeling on the changing room floor.

It would not stop.

She could feel the warm sticky fluid seep through the gaps between her fingers as she pressed her palm to her cheek, but the chilly air did seem to help slow the outflow as she stumbled outside and slipped behind the first concrete sink she could spot. The cold water stung the cut a little, but did effectively clean her face and ease the pain after a while as she lowered her face to the running tap. The water turned scarlet as it rushed towards the drain like a flooding river of red wine.

_What are the chances of being cut and threatened by a bunch of mental obsessive girls on your birthday? _Sakuno felt the shadow of rage gliding over her mind as she dampened her pink handkerchief; rage at her own weakness.

The cool moisture was comforting when the soaked fabric was held to the cut as a temporary bandage. Turning off the tap, she decided to make the trip to the health centre her top priority.

* * *

_So much for choosing the most concealed route._

Sakuno thought resentfully as she found herself sprawled awkwardly on the patch of melting snow next to no other than Echizen Ryoma, the young tennis prodigy who, in her opinion, thought about nothing else but tennis all day long, he had probably never even dreamed of any non-tennis related things either, not even when he was napping at school, such as the case now.

In her hurry to cover up the wound before anyone else sees, Sakuno had chosen to tramp through the school gardens, hopefully reaching the health centre faster as well as being camouflaged by the thick green bushes. It had seemed like the perfect solution, until her usual clumsiness resulted in her hooking an ankle under a solid tree root and sending her tumbling head over heels onto the ground into the slushy snow.

_Even worse, _Sakuno thought as she glanced sideways and saw Ryoma stir in his morning nap.

* * *

_**A/N:**_ Exams are OVER!! So sorry about the late update, but now I can finally get back to my writing properly (not just sneaking a few sentences here and there during study breaks). Thanks again to all my reviewers for taking the time to let me know how my story is progressing... I really appreciate all the comments and criticisms that everyone offers. I've actually planned the plot for this fic quite a while ago... but there has been quite a few fics with Ryoma's psycho fans attacking Sakuno (or so I've read), so I apologize if this chapter resembles the other fics... but I swear on my life that I havn't used anyone else's ideas without permission. Anyway, this development will be significant for future events so please bear with my overused plot for a bit...I promise there will be new ideas and RyoSaku moments.

Cheers!


	6. What Happened?

_Even worse, _Sakuno thought as she glanced sideways and caught Ryoma stir in his morning nap. _…__here I am, stuck next to the person who really should take full responsibility for this __'__bloody__'__ business__…_

She carefully shifted to a crouching position, trying to be as soundless as possible, in fear of waking the resting tennis idol and facing the awkwardness which would surely follow. Her eyes stole several glances at his sleeping face, preparing to shoot at the first signs of waking.

_His face is so peaceful...yet I wonder how many disasters have already resulted from it. _she thought with a pounding heart as her eyes glued reluctantly to his handsome features, with a charming trace of childishness still remaining in the smooth eyebrows and the head of emerald green hair now nestling in the materials of what was obviously an extremely crumpled Regular jacket.

Any thoughts regarding the attack and the wound had completely vanished as she continued to longingly take in all the details of his face, knowing that she would probably not have another chance at doing so without further injuries.

The time seemed to have frozen, even after a single drop of blood dribbled from her soaked handkerchief and onto Ryoma's arm, causing his eyes to fly open in alert.

She snapped out of her trance and, clumsily, attempted to scramble up before he saw-

But a second too late.

His well-trained hand grabbed her wrist before she could even move a muscle and, even in his drowsy state, she could not shake off the fingers clasped firmly around her pale skin. That was the only time Ryoma's powerful grip frightened her, and made her wish he hadn't done all those grip training after all. Her mind was in turmoil as she witnessed the fogginess in his golden eyes fade away and the piercing light bore into her own, then slowly widened as recognition seeped into them.

"…Ryuzaki? What the-?" Ryoma let out a low grunt as he withdrew his hand and rubbed them in his eyes to polish his groggy brain.

"Uh…n-nothing, sorry for interrupting your break, bye!" Sakuno shot up and mumbled a hurried apology as she backed away from his side and towards the bushes. She had plenty of time to run. However, when she saw that his razor-sharp eyes had focused on the gleaming droplet of red liquid on his arm, she knew a successful escape would be as difficult as a mouse crawling into the mouth of a cat.

The pair of slightly alarmed yellow eyes snapped up to study her face and abruptly spotted the stained handkerchief pressed to her cheek which she was desperately trying to cover up with her hand. Her feet felt as if they had been glued onto the ground. She could not even flinch.

The torturous silence that she had anticipated lasted for nearly ten seconds. Yet she neither felt relieved or glad when he finally reacted, an intense dread was what she felt.

As usual, he stood up and walked towards her. Proud strides with hands in his pockets. What was different was his gaze which was fixed upon her face, there was neither the familiar arrogance or belligerence, but a darkness which she could not interpret. It was with that strange look that he reached out a hand to peel the clinging cotton from the cut, although with surprising gentleness. She could feel blood oozing out from the wound again as he examined it. The fluid trickled down the hollows of her cheek and dripped off the tip of her chin, dotting the snow with blurry blobs of crimson.

"…What happened?" He asked calmly as he fished out a tattered piece of tissue from his shorts pocket and offered it to her.

The caring gesture took her by surprise, though not unpleasantly.

She took the wrinkled piece of white fiber with gratitude, although it was futile in terms of stopping the blood flow, as the thin material was saturated almost the instant it touched the injury.

"Please, it's no big deal-" She began hastily.

"_What happened?_" Half demanding, his tone rang with cold steel.

She hesitated before answering, but finally surrendered to the insistent light burning within those brilliant blazing eyes.

"I-uh-kind of overslept and as I was running past a building site I scraped my cheek on a nail…it's nothing, really, quite stupid to recall-" Sakuno laughed nervously, her overly cheerful voice shook as she took a few steps back. But he stopped her, quite easily, with just four words spoken in a clear emotionless voice:

"You're a bad liar."

Sakuno felt beads of sweat form on her forehead as Ryoma's piercing eyes scorched her face.

"Tell me the truth." He changed tactics as his voice lowered into a whisper and almost sounded like rustling leaves by her ear. She gulped nervously and took a deep breath.

_It's no use pretending... is that what he's trying to tell me?_

Her eyes closed as she slowly nodded.

"Fine… you'd probably find out anyway. Five girls came to me at the girls tennis club changing rooms and threatened that if-" Here she swallowed with difficulty and opened her eyes to connect her gaze with his. "-if I don't stay away from someone, they'd 'leave a mark' on me, as a warning to that person's other female supporters." She stopped when she witnessed his honey-coloured eyes clouding over with… could it be anger?

He did not need to ask to know that _someone_ was himself.

"…and you refused?"

"…I did… b-but I did evoke them first-" She started again but was soon shunned to silence by the cold glint in Ryoma's eyes as they flashed with dark fury.

"I'm not _stupid_." He turned around and seemed to be quite restless as he paced away from her and then stopped abruptly, as if he had suddenly came up with an explanation for this incident. He ran his fingers through his dark messy hair in a thoughtful manner, but finally decided to turn back and, to Sakuno's surprise, reached for her hand to drop a paper-thin object onto her open palm.

"Better get your cheek treated." The words were simple and coldly spoken, but were edged with an almost unnoticeable quiver, giving away the speaker's crumbling coolness.

At that, Echizen Ryoma disappeared into the shadows of the trees, leaving nothing behind but a trail of muddy footprints in the slushy snow, and the item in Sakuno's hand.

She lowered her eyes to find, with a electrifying jolt of astonishment, a smooth piece of bandage glowing in the faint light on the flesh of her unsteady hands. At that moment she thought there could not be anything else as beautiful as that old flimsy piece of rubbery plaster in that dull shade of orange.

Her face broke into a teary smile as warmth spread over her body. Her fingers curled around the bandaid as she held it tightly against her heart

The majestic school bell signaling the beginning of classes echoed in the vibrating air, yet she didn't seem to have heard it, even as the chilly wind nipped at her bare neck and hissed into her ear drums seconds after the last note of the bells had faded.

* * *

The first three periods had gone agonizingly slow, having to suffer both suspicious and curious stares from her classmates and people in the corridor. Even the irritating English teacher picked on her even more than usual-she didn't think it was possible but obviously it was- by dropping nasty comments here and there regarding the white gauze over her wound as "a cover for her passionate encounters with men."

So by the time the lunch bell sounded, she was exhausted from trying to appear cool and controlled under all the unnecessary attention. The feeling of discomfort was so great that she had nearly reached the point of forgetting about her birthday altogether, and wanted to run straight home to curl up in her room and weep. But unfortunately that was not to be the case, for even after school, she had to endure another three hours of coffee-making and customer service at the Snow Cottage.

She sighed heavily and buried her head in her arms on top of the desk as she waited for her friend Tomoka to join her for lunch. Yet when she overheard snippets of a conversation in front of her involving "Echizen", her ears pricked up and couldn't help but eavesdrop, just a little.

"…Hey have you heard about this? Echizen said he wanted to stop his Fan Club, like _actually_ banning it from his sight!"

"What!? You can't be serious! What sane person wouldn't want his own fans and supporters?"

"I_ know_, but it can't be wrong, I heard it from the Club President herself…what's her name again? Err…Osakada someone..."

_Tomo-chan... _Sakuno's heart gave a jolt of panic... _what's going on??_

"When did this happen?"

"Oh…I think he went to see her at interval… in quite a hurry, so I've heard…unusual for Echizen, eh?"

"But why all of a sudden? I mean, I'm sure he's been sick of all those girls for a while now…"

"Good point… I don't think he said why, you know, just said he wanted to stop the fan club from running and 'getting in his way', to be exact…"

"He does seem to be pretty serious about it then-"

Sakuno shot up from her seat, giving the two guys deep in conversation a fright as the chair scraped the porcelain tiles with a loud screech. Rushing out of the classroom, her eyes darted from side to side as she looked for the Echizen Ryoma Fan Club President, whom she soon spotted heading down the corridor towards herself.

"Tomo-chan!" Sakuno skidded to a stop in front of her friend, and her question in mind was soon confirmed by the sight of Tomoka's face, which was lined with evident streaks of tear marks and nail marks where she had clearly pinched herself in hope of bringing herself back into reality.

"Sakuno!!!" Tomoka wailed and burst into tears as she flung her arms around Sakuno in despair. "I-I am ruined! What should I do?? What has happened?? Why why why _why…_"

"C-Calm down, Tomo-chan…" Sakuno frowned at her friend's bad state of distress, and laid both her hands on the later's shoulders to give them a gentle shake. "What happened?"

Tomoka bit her lip as her eyes shone with tears and she touched her forehead in a dramatic gesticulation of fainting. "Ryoma-sama…Ryoma-sama wanted to stop the Fanclub from ever running again…it's _terrible_…he just looked at me with those gorgeous golden eyes and said 'I want it stopped'." Tomoka lowered her voice in an imitation of Ryoma.

Sakuno sank into a frantic feeling of panic. _What if it's because of me? No…it can't be…he can't possibly have sacrificed his fans for a girl he ignores half the time…but- _A familiar chorus of screams and admiring sighs down the corridor ripped her from her thoughts just in time to see a corner of a white cap disappear behind the classroom door which was slammed into the face of the troop of loud angry girls who had obviously heard the dreadful news.

_Even better. _Sakuno rubbed her palms together and, after sending an apologetic look at Tomoka, sprinted back down towards the classroom and shoved her way through the gaping group of fans in front of the metal door.

The first thing she saw was the slumped figure of Ryoma in his seat and the white cap which he had lowered over his eyes to block out the ridiculous sight of eager female faces flattened against the planes of the classroom windows. She walked up to him and heavily placed her hands onto the edge of his desk to make her presence known.

He glanced up; although his look was cool Sakuno noticed the deep shadow of wariness hovering over the bright glowing eyes.

"Is it true that you don't want your Fanclub anymore?"

"Correction, I've _never_ wanted a Fanclub."

"But you _did_ tell Tomo-chan to stop running the club?"

He shrugged casually as his eyes shifted to the gangs of whining girls outside in the narrow corridor. "So?"

"If you're doing this because of what happened this morning, I don't want your pity-"

"Who said you could keep it?"

"...I'm being perfectly serious-"

"_You_ weren't being serious when you said "I evoked them first" this morning... you are in no situation to lecture me."

"I wasn't lying! I could've agreed to their deal and nothing would have happened!"

"...And if you did, I'd have cut you myself."

Her eyes narrowed as she glanced down at him. As far as she could see, there was not a single hint of hesitation in his voice.

Does that mean... he would not forgive her if she never talks to him again?

Impossible.

"-I've wanted to get rid of that useless club for ages anyway."

"But to take away their right to support you is unfair on them."

"They can still do that without being in a _club_."

"But-"

"It isn't fair for people to get hurt for pathetic reasons either." He paused and sighed with deep frustration. "Especially not _you_-"

Although unwilling, Sakuno distinctly felt her heart skipping a beat.

"-as it would mean that the old hag is going to skin me alive for a crime I didn't commit," Ryoma finished but took no notice of the faint blush on Sakuno's face. His eyes paused on the white bandage on her wounded cheek. "… Been to the Health Centre?"

She touched her cheek self-consciously, "Yeah…" then seemed to have suddenly remembered something as she dug her hand into her skirt pocket.

"Uh…I didn't use it, but thanks anyway…" She sighed softly and held out her hand to the boy in front of her.

Ryoma stared down at the untouched bandage in mild surprise but smirked lightly and turned away from her.

"Keep it." He hesitated, and then added in a barely audible mumble "… it's your birthday anyway."

"…W-What did you say?" Sakuno was stunned into silence, and only just managed to choke out her doubt after a few seconds of blankness.

The only answer she received was a long view of Echizen Ryoma's scalp and the twitch in his cheek muscle which indicated yet another smirk.

She sank into her own seat a couple of paces away and felt her spirit soar, as if it has been given a pair of angel wings.

_He knows my birthday._

_He not only knows, but __**remembers**__ when it is._

Behind her, Ryoma's smirk slowly softened into a real smile as he caught her carefully tucking the plaster into her pocket as if it was a valuable jewel.

* * *

The Snow Cottage was already bustling with customers and waiters when Sakuno stepped through the doorway. The welcoming sound of cups clinking with saucers blended in with the quiet murmurs of conversation as people enjoyed the opportunity to catch up on a late afternoon chat.

Sakuno hastily slipped on a fresh white apron and had barely reached the counter before a hand clasped around her wrist and hurled her towards the coffee machines. Her head snapped back in alarm but, with a great leap of her heart, caught sight of Akito's boyish grin over her shoulder, although it faded quickly when his sharp gaze swept over her cheek.

"Ryuzaki! What happened!?"

Sakuno displayed what she hoped to be the most assuring smile before replying: "Nothing really, I fell over… _you_ know how clumsy I can be!" Yet another unrealistic lie.

Rubbing her palms together in a manner of determination, she turned away from Akito's suspicious eyes. "What do you want me to do today?"

"Er…If you don't mind, can you manage the drinks section?" A warm smile returned to his face, even though the anxiety was still clear in his tender brown eyes.

"Sure thing-" Sakuno answered cheerfully and was just reaching up for the tins of coffee powder when she froze at the touch of a finger on her cheek.

Akito's finger was light and gentle as it stroked the bandage.

"Don't overwork, go rest if you are tired." His tone was both affectionate and worried.

"I-I'm fine, really," She murmured, touched by his sensitivity.

He smiled and dropped his hand as he turned away towards the front counter. Yet before she could calm her racing heartbeat, he cast back a single sentence which sent her mind roaring with excitement.

"Check your locker before leaving."

* * *

**A/N: **Happy Chinese New Year to everyone! I apologize once again for my slow update... (although there are people who are slower than me... coughcough) I've been busy eating :) ( --lame excuse) Thanks again for your support and I look forward to receiving more feedback about my stories, be it negative or positive...OO Nevertheless, the most important thing is for people to enjoy reading my fics as I enjoy sharing them! So take your time to get into the mood... settle down with a cup of tea and some chocolate biscuits, perhaps they would make you savour the story more carefully... 


	7. A Long Day Indeed

"Why _must_ I go and walk that girl home?" Ryoma grumbled in a state of extreme irritation as he shot an angry glare at his father across the dining room of the Echizen household. The air between the pair seemed to crackle dangerously.

"What!? Are you nuts for not wanting to protect that beautiful gorgeous girl who doesn't look anything like that old hag!? Oh how _did_ I manage to have such a dumb son??..." Echizen Nanjirou heaved a great exaggerated sigh and shook his head in grief. "If only I was twenty years younger..."

"It's Sakuno-chan's birthday today, isn't it?" Nanako smiled warmly beside Ryoma as she glanced up - for he is now taller than her - "A girl wouldn't want to fall into the hands of danger on her special day."

_She already had. _Ryoma thought grimly.

"Be grateful, young man, for such a _rare_ opportunity to walk a girl home! At the speed you're going no new females are going to enter this house for another ten years…" Nanjirou made a horrified face as if the full meaning of the idea just struck him. "Go!! Now!! I _command_ you!"

Yet, fearlessly, Ryoma stared straight back at his father's panicking face. He scowled. There was a spark, a sizzle, and the heated war between father and son roared into action.

"Oh, please, you two! …Ryoma-san, if you don't want to go, can you at least help me deliver this present?"

Nanako cupped her hands around her mouth to project her voice over the intense fight of kendo (with tennis racquets) and held out a delicately wrapped box to her cousin.

Not expecting this tactic, Ryoma gaped at the shimmering silver ribbons inches under his nose and his mind immediately flew back to the ribbons entwined in Sakuno's hair the day of the English test. The day his frozen heart first bathed in the warmth of her hot chocolate.

"You two have been plotting this, haven't you?" Ryoma's eyes shifted angrily from one grinning face to the other, knowing they would nag him like a pair of parrots until he had left the house.

"What are you talking about, _Ryoma-kun_?" Nanjirou smirked and then with one quick movement, grabbed his son's collar and dragged him into the entrance hall, ignoring the filthy shouts of fury from the boy behind him.

As soon as his father had dumped him by the shoe cupboard in order to let him put on his footwear, he sprang up with his eyes flashing every bit as dangerously as his father's.

"You can't _make_ me go."

Once again, Nanjirou cursed and blamed Rinko for giving his son such bad genes, then he put out his hand to Nanako for the present. She obediently placed it on his hand with a smile and watched with an amused twinkle in her eyes as her uncle threw the box at his son.

Having been a tennis player all of his life, Ryoma's natural reaction to a small object flying at his face was, of course, to exercise his quick reflexes and catch it neatly in his hands. Nanjirou had assumed this, and before his son could react further, he had shoved him through the main door, kicked out a pair of his sneakers, and smirked at the young fuming face staring back at him in the chilly night.

"If you want a bed to sleep in tonight, you'd better go to the girl with the present and see her home, young lad."

Then the door slid shut with a bang.

* * *

Sparkling drops of green tea left faint blobs of leafy stains on her elegant apron like round paddocks of glazed grass, but she took no notice as she sprinkled a handful of crinkled tea leaves into a spotless glass teapot. A merry tune was humming between her lips while the heel of her shoe tapped rhythmically along with it.

_Only one hour. _Sakuno thought happily, _One hour until home time, until I can leave this disastrous day behind._

She unscrewed the cap on one of the milk bottles and poured a few centimeters of white liquid into a metal bowl to make the decorative froth on a cappuccino. Then as the coffee machine screeched and beat the milk into light foam, she took out a small shaker filled with cocoa powder.

_I wonder what Akito-kun has put into my locker? _Sakuno thought to herself as she poured the milk froth onto the coffee like a thick layer of icing, then sprinkled the chocolate on lightly. _Could it be a birthday present? Another plaster perhaps?_

She chuckled quietly to herself as she placed the cup of cappuccino onto a wooden tray. She could still feel the heat of the plaster Ryoma had given her from inside her skirt pocket. It scorched as if it was going to burn a hole in the material.

The tray was so well-balanced that not a single drop of coffee spilled over the side of the gleaming white cup. Yet, basked in a feeling of pride and joy, she put down the cup with more force than necessary, and it clattered loudly on the saucer. Only then did the coffee stream down the curved cup body, forming a small pool at the base.

"Oh…I'm so sor-"

"What the HELL do you think you are doing!?" A rough male voice roared above all the noises in the café, making Sakuno freeze in the midst of an apology and a bow.

"Uh-Sir, I'm really sorry-" She started again but was cut off as the man stood up in a manner of extreme fury, his face purple with rage.

"What's with you waitresses nowadays!? Not _one_ have I seen who actually concentrated and have manners!! Who do you think you are!? Huh!? So clumsy as to stain my shirt with coffee! _My_ shirt!" The large man spat down at Sakuno and pulled his white business shirt so that the faded tiny brown spots were almost under her nose. They were unmistakably old stains...even if they were not that old, it certainly wasn't caused a few seconds ago. It took her an immense amount of effort not to wrinkle her nose at the smell of his breath which stank of alcohol.

Sakuno bowed again, so deeply that the tip of her nose almost brushed her knee. The entire café had become silent by then; every head had turned in the direction of the man and the slim girl who seemed dwarfed in comparison.

"Please allow me to clean that for you immediately-" She said as calmly as she could manage, although her hands had begun to tremble uncontrollably. She was just turning to find a cloth behind the counter when, to her dismay, the man grabbed hold of her arm so tightly she had given up hope of escape before she even tried. She dared not wince at the pain but her smile flinched for a moment before returning to its usual glamour.

"You stay_ right_ here so I can teach you _proper manners_, young lady! What attitude is that? Too _busy_ to stand here and listen to a customer!? Oh no no, you stay _right_ here…" The man slurred as if his tongue was too big for his mouth, and he rolled his eyes in a way which greatly reminded her of a boy throwing a tantrum.

"Sir, I'm terribly sorry for my carelessness…but you are hurting me-"

"How DARE you complain, didn't you hear what I just SAID? Not only rude but also _stupid_, huh? Well _well_, _crappy_ cafés do give _crappy_ service-"

"...Sir, it's fine if you insult me, but if you insult the others in the café I'll have to ask you to leave immediately." Sakuno's voice rang louder than she had expected, although she had the feeling that it grew quieter towards the end, for panic had began to prick at her overpowering anger.

A few people in the room gasped with shock.

She witnessed the change over the man's face as his expression blackened like a storm. Then the next thing she knew she was seized into the air, the man's hand clutching her throat.

"_You will regret this_…" The man's voice was as deep as rumbling thunder and as cold as the snow falling outside on the deserted streets. "When I see your _manager_-"

"-The manager is here." An equally icy voice sounded from behind Sakuno. "Please let her go at once."

Sakuno's body stiffened.

"No wonder the girl is rude, must have learnt it from those above her." The man snorted but only tightened his grip on Sakuno's neck. He grinned gleefully as everyone in the café watched on in horror at her wriggling body and sickening gurgles near the point of suffocation.

"_Let her go_." Akito's eyes flashed threateningly as he took a step forward.

Yet when the man ignored him once again, much to all's astonishment, the tall boy flung himself forward and knocked the enormous man over, followed afterwards were deafening noises of tables splintering and vases shattering.

Sakuno was flung into the air the moment Akito launched his attack. She landed with a painful crash and for the first few minutes, could only crouch on the floor, spluttering and gasping desperately for air as her lungs burned with the need for oxygen. She touched her neck where it was swelling from the rough grip and felt nausea rise from the pit of her stomach as countless black dots swam before her eyes.

When her senses began to recover at last, she became aware of the dead silence in the room and the people sitting absolutely still in their chairs -or, for some of them, standing - as if they had been turned into stone. She slowly sat up and turned her eyes to where everyone else's were looking - and was frozen in shock like the rest of the people by the sight she saw.

The man was lying as still as a rock on the café floor. His head was bathing in a small pool of fresh blood which was pouring out from his deformed nostrils. His greasy graying hair resembled bloody strands of liquorices and his fat stubby arms spread limply over the stained wood. Parts of his white shirt were now dyed a bright crimson and the small rise and fall of his chest was the only sign of life on his obese body.

Yet Sakuno's eyes focused on the two people standing over it.

_Two _people.

One of them she immediately recognized - sleek brown hair now in a tangled mess on his head, with a ripped sleeve dangling off his arm, was Akito, bending over the man who he had punched - Sakuno presumed that had been the case from the blood dripping off his left fist - and examining the body for any serious fatal injuries.

What stunned her was the tall figure standing opposite Akito and had his back to her. His black jumper had concealed some of his disorderly green hair, yet the piercing amber eyes were unmistakably familiar as he turned his head towards the girl behind him. There was a brief silence as their eyes met and his fingers stopped in the middle of fiddling with a stained tennis ball.

She felt her senses go numb once again.

"…R-Ryoma-kun…?"

The boy hesitated when he heard his name, but before he could respond or move to her side, another had rushed there first.

"Ryuzaki!! Are you all right? Where did he hurt you?" Akito's anxious voice pulled her confused mind back to her body and she painfully ripped her eyes from Ryoma's, just as she saw coldness drown out the concern or whatever feelings there had been in his dark pupils.

"I-I'm…fine…" She answered as he felt the Head Waiter's firm hands steadying her shoulders, only then did she notice that she was shaking wildly.

"Go get the first-aid kit!" He commanded to another female waitress who had turned as white as a sheet. Upon hearing the order, she fled out of the room like a bolt of lightning.

"Here, sit on a chair and I'll fetch you something to drink…" He drew over a chair on which she collapsed upon gratefully. And then he turned around and went behind the counter.

Sakuno took a deep breath and tried to calm her tingling nerves. She wiped her cold clammy hands on her apron, and then, all of a sudden, remembered Ryoma's unexpected appearance. Her eyes snapped up from the floor and focused on where she had seen the tennis prodigy standing.

But he was gone.

She gaped at the empty space and pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. _Had it just been a trick of my mind? But…I was __**pretty**__ sure-_

"I think you've got more than enough injuries for now, Ryuzaki." She jumped as a stern voice sounded beside her. Looking up, she saw Akito's eyes fixed on her arm where her nails were making deep crescent-moon marks in the flesh from where the blood supply had been cut off. She smiled weakly and accepted the cup of steaming hot chocolate from him while he opened the first-aid kit on the floor.

It was not surprising for her to see that most of the customers have fled from the site - with a sincere apology from the café staff where possible- and the room was quiet save the murmurs of other waitresses reorganizing the overturned tables.

"…are you feeling okay, Ryuzaki?" Akito asked gently as he skillfully smeared a gel-like substance over the red bruises on her neck.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine…" She smiled reassuringly but the frightened look in her large hazel eyes had not escaped Akito's notice. He sighed and laid a hand on hers understandingly.

"Go home now and get some rest."

"But-" She began to protest.

"Don't argue…I'll manage the rest," He spoke softly, in a voice as soothing as the ointment on his fingers.

"But at least let me help you clean up this place, it was entirely my fault…" She felt despair and guilt bursting through her veins like a flooding dam.

"Hush…" She flinched when she felt a finger brush over her unwounded cheek. "It's all right."

She was speechless for a moment as she felt a blush creep up her neck. A burning urge to embrace the boy in front of her became suddenly overpowering.

"Would you like me to walk you home?" Akito offered kindly.

"Uh…n-no…I should be all right…" Despite of the growling desire to accept the offer, she knew he still had lots more to do tonight. A grateful smile broke the grim line her lips were set in as she added a soft "Thanks."

His frown ceased when he saw her smile. But his tone was still concerned as he helped her up and led her to the back of the café.

"Be careful…Let me know when you get home, ok?"

"Yes…thank you…I-I'll definitely make up for this next time."

"Don't worry about it…just rest."

"…I will."

Her gaze followed after him as he went back out to assist in the sweeping and mopping. And it was then that her attention drew to an object in her locker.

* * *

**A/N:** Poor Sakuno indeed! (chuckle) And no I don't have an obsession with torturing her at all!! Although I must admit it seems ridiculous to have all these things happen on her birthday...Anyway, finally found some time to actually sit down and look over my fanfic folder (sigh) I know I have a tendency to write long chapters... maybe I should try to cut down on my descriptions? They just go on and on don't they? (laugh) Sorry... seems like I have an obsession of making everything vivid and descriptive. Do tell me if I've gone overboard with them!

Thanks again for reading! I've been absolutely thrilled just by reading through all the reviews and encouragements...you guys are the best.


	8. Rose like Sunshine

Her inky pupils dilated to the size where only a fine thread of brown could be seen encircling the rippling darkness.

There, in the dimness of her wooden locker, was a yellow rose. A freshly picked yellow rose.

Tiny droplets of dew remained sparkling on its creamy yellow petals like a thousand winking diamonds, and the brilliant emerald leaves sprouting from the slim shiny stem seemed to have unfurled at the first sign of spring. Around the waxy coating of the stem was a wispy ribbon dyed a flamboyant shade of sunset and tied into a lovely bow like the loop of eternity. There was a flash of white - and a small note fell open beside the soft petals. Picking it up, Sakuno's heart thud heavily with emotion at the sight of a familiar handwriting - a style not so neat as to lose the touch of boyish energy, yet not so illegible as to confuse the chefs when placing the orders on the kitchen counter.

_So soft yet so warm_

_So frail yet so precious_

_So delicate yet so beautiful_

_A light at the end of darkness_

_A hope at the end of despair_

…_Just like you_

_To a girl whose smile dazzles me like sunshine…_

_Happy Birthday_

_Akito_

The note paper was imprinted with an exquisite pattern of roses on vines which snaked around the frame. Her hands trembled slightly as she picked it up and gazed down at the boyish writing. She felt a dizzying disbelief and happiness rush to her brain and trigger a reaction similar to that of sculling a shot of vodka.

"…Happy Birthday." Akito's voice drew her back from the trance. For a moment, she thought it was her mind replaying the phrase on the note, but the squeaks of rubber gloves being taken off was a slight misfit in the fantasy. The boy had wandered back to the room when she was reading the note and crept up soundlessly behind her to whisper in her ear.

She blushed and took a step back in alarm. Then her eyes lit up at the sight of his grinning face.

"…Oh, Thank you_ so_ much for the present!" She exclaimed with joy as she admired the rose resting quietly in her locker. "It's beautiful…"

"…You're welcome." The boyish grin remained, his satisfaction was apparent from his sparkling eyes. "Have you read the note?"

Sakuno blushed to a deep shade of scarlet, which brought an even broader smile to his face.

"Uh…Y-Yeah…you wrote it yourself?" As soon as she asked, she wanted to punch herself. _Of _course _he wrote it himself! It__'__s an insult to even suspect that._

Yet he didn't seem offended in the slightest. "Uh-huh, you reckon I can be a poet?" He laughed and made a face which received answering giggles.

"Well, I'd _love_ to say so... but you still have lots more to-" She stopped. To her horror, she only just realized what she was saying and managed to bite her own lips before the "work on" could slip out. Yet he seemed to have already noticed her frozen expression.

"What's wrong?"

"Er…N-Nothing…" She muttered quickly, avoiding the questioning gaze she sensed that was focusing on her face. _Since __**when**__ have I picked up Ryoma-kun__'__s line without noticing?_

"Maybe you really should go…you still don't look too well." He picked up the rose from her locker and placed it on her hand. "I must get back to some more scrubbing… but how about me paying you a visit tomorrow?"

"Yeah you'd better…_what_!? I-I mean...um...sure! Of course! That would be...lovely." She hesitated but took a deep breath and leaned in to peck him lightly on the cheek. "Thanks again for the rose…and the note."

Then she flashed a quick shy smile at his surprised expression and pushed open the swinging doors into the awaiting night.

* * *

The street seemed much darker when the café door swung closed behind her, cutting off the warm glow of lights and the soft murmurs of people finishing off their last chores for the day. 

Grotesque shadows lurked behind every object in sight - metal rubbish bins overflowing with filth, stray dogs diving eagerly into the filth in hope of finding a scrape of rotten food, random pieces of coloured notices which had detached themselves from the bulletin and were now performing on a midnight dance in the wind - deserted as the path was, it was filled with a grimness so heavy Sakuno could feel it engulfing her even as she stood silently in the night, her head cocked as if trying to hear a non-existent sound.

"Are you planning to stand there all night?" A cool voice pierced the still air and sucked her back from the trance into which she had fallen. She spun around in alarm and stared as a human-shaped figure detached itself from the shadows of the lamppost on which it was leaning. The person stepped forward and let the faint golden street light spill over his shoulders like a shower of sparks. His smooth emerald green hair was rippling in the breeze and his deep cold eyes were staring straight back into hers.

"R-Ryoma-kun!" She gasped, her eyes widening in immediate recognition. _He __**is**__ here then... Good. Now at least I know I havn't knocked my head too hard against the floor. _"What on earth are you doing here?"

He was silent for a few moments. The silence was so long she suspected he had not heard her question. She was about to repeat herself when he finally answered, reluctantly.

"...To escort you home." The reply was so unexpected that Sakuno nearly choked, but the boy's tone didn't have the slightest hint of emotion in it, not even a tiny hint of humour.

"Pardon me?"

"It just so happens that if I don't see you to you house safely I 'won't get a bed to sleep in tonight'." Ryoma sighed and irritation finally got the better of him as it heated up his tone. His eyes shifted away from the girl in slight embarrassment as her lips curled into an amused smile and she began walking towards him.

"Could I be hearing correctly? The famous tennis star at Seisshun High School surrendered to one of his father's threats?" Her eyes were still filled with laughter when she stopped in front of him and wondered out loud.

Ryoma snorted and began walking down the street without her. "There is no way I'm sleeping out on the streets just because a high-school girl can't get home by herself."

Quite used to his insulting remarks by now, Sakuno ignored the last comment and quickened her pace to catch up with him, although the corners of her mouth were still twitching from the enormous effort to hide a smile.

Their coats fluttered in the breeze as they walked in a companionable silence down the street. Although still in disbelief, she beamed at the idea of the idolized Echizen Ryoma walking her home and felt so full of excitement that some of it was flowing out of her onto the concrete through her leather boots.

Then, with a jolt of remembrance, her mind flicked back to the violent catastrophe in the café.

She turned her head up to study the profile of Ryoma's face before inquiring about her suspicion.

"Something weird just happened in the café," She began slowly, making every word as clear as possible. She did not want to have to repeat herself if it had simply been her imagination.

"…What?" He kept his vision to the path ahead.

"A…uh…man nearly knocked down the whole café," She said, testing.

"That's a bit of an exaggeration." Although his voice still appeared to be emotionless, his eyebrows had raised a fraction higher as a sign of mild amusement.

_He __**was**__ there then. _Her heart skipped a beat as she swallowed and pressed on.

"This could totally be my imagination… but did you - _help _Akito-kun when he attacked me?" She asked carefully.

He remained silent for a few seconds. They turned a corner and stepped onto a main road. The shimmering neon lights flashed blindingly above them, making her squint as she struggled to keep an eye on Ryoma's reaction.

Frowning slightly, he turned his head slightly so that he could shoot a quick glance at the girl walking alongside him. Then, to Sakuno's surprise, he grumbled in a voice faintly edged with sarcasm.

"Hmm, yeah, of _course _I could just stay outside when someone inside was getting _strangled_." He looked away and added in a low and almost inaudible mutter. "…even though I only _helped_."

Her eyebrows shot up in astonishment before, seconds later, realization swept over her features. She smiled and patted his shoulder comfortingly.

"Thank you for_ saving my life_, then." Her smile broadened as she said half-jokingly. "…Sound better?"

He made no remark, but ruffled his hair and sighed. His eyes flickered over the luxurious window displays of a gift shop, over a polished copper mirror which caught the flicker of smile on his face as he walked past. Odd... it's either because he has become more easily amused or that... she was becoming more amusing.

* * *

**A/N**: Uh-oh... first update in 5 months... a huge sorry and thank you to all my wonderful readers who have continued to support me. I bet I'm going to get a whole truckload of criticisms now... oh well, at least be honest! I know this chapter is short, but if I combine it with the next chapter it will be way too long, so bear with me while I sort out the next one...the least I can do is promise you that the next update will be soon, with the exams over I should be able to manage more easily (hopefully)... 


	9. First Tastes of Mocha

The plastic wrapping paper was cool and slippery in his coat pocket.

The nerves didn't help – his palm felt rubbery with sweat and it was like dipping into a pool of spring water each time his hand reached in to make sure the present was still there. Yet he wanted to forget its presence so badly – almost to the point of dropping it into the gutter, pretending there was a hole in his pocket, and go straight back home.

So_ yes_ - he still didn't know how to give it to her.

For the millionth time that night he reminded himself what an idiot he was. Perhaps those girls who had gathered up all their courage and given him Valentine chocolates were not so useless after all – although that's probably because they actually _wanted_ to give those presents.

His golden eyes drifted over to the bag in Sakuno's hand, and fell onto the yellow petals poking out from the opening like a curious child with a honey-coloured bonnet. The wrapping paper rustled slightly as Ryoma's fist tightened in his pocket.

He was never meant to see that scene. Her blushing at the rose, that boy appearing out of nowhere – with his white blouse still dotted with dried blood which he had bravely spilled while saving her life, the two of them laughing over the note he had written for her, and the kiss… Ryoma cringed.

It was just the shock – yes, that's it – the shock of seeing her boldness – which he thought she had a severe lack of. So different was she from her usual shy, reserved self that he couldn't quite adjust to the idea, that's all. Oh, and the discovery of the rumour that girls like roses (which he had always had trouble believing) being true was also a shock – although the reason behind it still puzzled him (why can't it be other flowers? Irises? Tulips?). Well, these explain the tingly and somewhat foreign sensation in his chest anyway – obviously the impact from the double-degree shock…

"…ma-kun? Ryoma-kun??"

Ryoma gave a start. To his relief, his train of thought was interrupted by a gentle tug on his sleeve. He turned around and met a pair of sparkling hazel eyes.

" Look! It's a coffee cart!"

His gaze followed the direction of her finger and paused on a small stall across the road from where they were standing. Apart from the fact that it was slightly decorated with fake snow and a small neon sign flashing the long-irrelevant green words "Merry Christmas", to him it was really nothing out of the ordinary.

"...Oh it is so adorable… although it must be a hassle moving around the city so often."

Ryoma gave a dry laugh and turned back to the girl in disbelief. "You haven't seen one of those before?"

She stared back, blankly. "No."

He searched her face for any suggestion of a lie. There were none. A heavy sigh escaped his lips.

"…They don't move around the city, they stay in one place. Otherwise how would its customers know where to find it?"

Her eyes widened and an impressed smile broke over her face.

"Oh… I see."

"…Thought you'd know that by now," He smirked. "-having been in Tokyo twelve years longer than me_ and_ working in the same industry as them."

"…Sorry." Her rosy cheeks – flushed from the instant of excitement – reddened even more, and her head lowered an inch. A lock of auburn hair dangled across her eyes and hid the glisten of moisture within. There was a long pause.

It almost felt like they were four years younger – her getting upset over something he said, without him realizing exactly what he had said. Almost – but not quite; for he was feeling an irritating prickle of guilt which had not been there four years ago.

Again he sighed – he seemed to be doing that a lot recently. It really killed him every time – knowing that his usual confidence which won the heart of so many girls on a tennis court did the exact opposite when he used it on them – well, not that he cared or anything.

"…Do you want one?"

"…Eh?"

"Coffee."

"Oh." Surprised, her lips twisted into a hesitant smile. "Is that okay?"

He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. "Otherwise I wouldn't be asking."

* * *

The cart was small, but relatively well-presented. With a classic design which set the stall apart from the surrounding office buildings, its outer walls gleamed with a fresh coat of blue paint – which contrasted with the interior walls of rosy chestnut. The front booth protruding out from the window of the cart was shaded by a green roof which was partially draped with faerie lights and partially adorned with dangling Christmas tree ornaments. The tiny miniatures of angels and reindeers trembled slightly in the wind as Ryoma and Sakuno approached the booth and studied the list scribbled onto the black board nailed beside the window. 

"Aww, I was hoping to get a hot chocolate…" The girl looked at the list of coffee names disappointedly, but soon recovered her smile as she settled for another drink. "Guess I'll get a Moccachino then – that's half chocolate anyway. How about you, Ryoma-kun?"

"I'm not really a coffee person," He replied coldly.

She hesitated. "But there is only coffee here-"

"In other words, I'm not getting anything."

"Oh." Somehow, he thought she seemed even more disappointed than before.

He watched as she stepped up to the window and made her order, as she fumbled in her bag for her wallet, as she groped in the bag some more and smiled apologetically at the old man, and as she began to place the contents of her bag on the booth one by one…

_Oh God, don't tell me…_

Ryoma slapped his forehead in disbelief. He should have seen this coming.

Fishing out a couple of crumpled notes, he dropped them onto the booth with as charming a smile as he could manage. The old man, who was starting to scowl at the panicking girl in front of the window, relaxed immediately and hurriedly ducked behind the coffee-making machines with the cash, as if he was afraid that the money would vanish into thin air.

Ryoma slowly turned towards Sakuno, who was obviously avoiding his eyes and pretending to be still busily sorting through her belongings. He sighed, and his sharp eyes caught her flinch – almost as if she was waiting for him to say something nastier than usual. She knew him well – for that was exactly what he would have done had he not been overcame by a strange urge to laugh.

Yes, to laugh.

Despite his massive effort to hold it back, he failed miserably and the string of laughter burst out as a sort of loud snort. Although after clapping his hand over his mouth, he did, just, manage to disguise it as a violent coughing fit as the teary-eyed girl finally turned towards him in mild suspicion.

This has seriously never happened to him before. Never in his life did he expect that he would even need to fight so hard to bite back a bubbling spring of laughter in his throat. And never in his life did he know that laughter could be so difficult to suppress – his lungs were practically exploding with excited air molecules tickling the inside of his chest for a hearty release. Echizen Ryoma was, however, someone who would do anything to secure his reputation – which was unfortunately hanging by the thread at the moment.

_Calm down… deep breaths… _

"A-Are you all right, Ryoma-kun?"

Although his throat was still vibrating with ripples of laughter, he was relieved when he heard his usual cold voice answering her questioning gaze – a bit muffled under his palm, perhaps – but reasonably normal.

"…Fine." He shifted his eyes towards the pile of objects on the booth. "Have you found your money?"

"…Not yet, I must have left it at the café." She sighed softly and scooped up the last item on the booth to lay it gently on top of the bag. When Ryoma saw the tenderness with which she handled the object, he felt the laughter drain out of his throat.

It was also the first time in his life that he has glared at a flower with such intense dislike.

* * *

Softly, her fingers brushed against the creamy yellow petals of the rose as she placed it on top of a pile of textbooks. How lovely it looked – resting under the dim lights of the night like a bud carved out of butter. Yet Sakuno was very far from wanting to admire its beauty – for her dark troubled eyes revealed there was a more worrying matter on her mind. 

For years now she has tried to convince herself that the misfortunes she had experienced around Echizen Ryoma had simply been coincidences. But even if she attempted to count the number of times she forgot something in front of him she would probably need two hundred fingers. Is it just as he had once said to her after she had forgotten her racquets – "You really wouldn't be able to survive by yourself"? Or is it him secretly working some dark magic on her that was making her doing stupid things like this?

Although unfortunate, the first option seemed closer to reality. She sighed.

_Oh well… if there's going to be someone who can look after me…._

"Your coffee's ready, missie." She looked up at the sound of a gruff voice. With an apologetic smile, she took the cup of Mochaccino from his gnarled hands. Yet to her surprise, the man leaned forward and, with a puff of fishy breath, murmured: "A nice young chap you've got there."

Her cheeks warmed. "Um… he's not…"

But the man had already vanished behind the rows of coffee tins – although not without a final wink and a thumbs-up.

Sakuno turned her head slightly and stole a quick glance at Ryoma, who seemed to have taken an interest in glaring at her bag – a bit odd perhaps, but she was relieved that he didn't seem to have heard what he said…

The coffee was sweet – almost sickeningly so. The ratio of coffee and chocolate was mistaken, maybe – although the rush of sugary liquid which continuously struck the tip of her tongue soon numbed her taste buds and she came to become grateful for the warmth which it provided. She retrieved her bag from the floor, but almost spilled her coffee in the process as she lost her balance from the weight of the bag. Damn those textbooks.

Half-expecting to feel the sharp prickles of the gravel on her knee and a hot slap of coffee on her thigh as she fell forward, she drew in a sharp intake of air when she _did_ feel the cut of gravel on her legs – but without the exploding heat of coffee anywhere on her body.

In fact, she didn't even know where the coffee cup was.

Sakuno lifted both of her hands off the ground – where they had landed to prevent her from slamming face-down into the pedestrian pathway – and wiped them against her skirt to brush off the pieces of tiny stones. She was _pretty_ sure they were holding the cup just an instant ago… even though now there was nothing in them but a few drops of blood where the gravels had sunk into her flesh.

"…What are you doing?" A cold voice sounded above her.

She has found her coffee. It was resting rather snuggly in someone's hand – she raised her eyes – Ryoma's hand. Extending a hand reluctantly, he helped her up and stuffed the coffee back into her hand.

"…Thanks." _But wouldn't people normally save the girl first instead of the coffee?_

…_Oh well, this is Ryoma-kun we are talking about._

"…Give me that bag."

"What?"

He gave her a glare. "The bag in your hand."

It took her a moment to realize it was an offer of help and not a threat.

… _if there's going to be someone who can look after me…._

…_as long as there's going to be someone to look after me…_

She smiled a little. True, she couldn't possibly ask for anyone better than Ryoma to look after her…

…_Even when he has to look after so many others?_

Without warning, a montage of memories flooded her mind. Disheartening memories. Strong, powerful, painful memories. Oh yes… at the tennis club waiting for him – the memory was so horribly vivid she had almost forgotten it happened two years ago – that was when she first witnessed the intense competition between members of his fanclub – a girl offering a towel to him, then a different girl handing him a can of Grape Pontas, followed closely by another girl with a small box of snacks of some kind… and then another…

If she had to fight over ten other people for him to even catch a glimpse of her… what are the chances of him being there when she needed him?

The smile on her lips faltered like a withering flower.

She was sure of it now – what he had lived for and would only live for. Tennis, matches, fans – an endless cycle of glory and popularity. And the thought of them hurt – a lot. Subconsciously her fingers rose to touch her cheek, the stinging had grown worse in the bitter cold.

"…I'm fine, thanks," She replied quietly.

"…You've lied to me enough times today." He eyed the bandage on her cheek coldly.

For a moment she was tempted to give in – she bit back a familiar stutter. "I'm not - I'm fine, really. I just wasn't looking at where I was going."

He gave her another long look, but said nothing.

They resumed their journey back to the Ryuzaki residence in silence. It was definitely turning chillier – most pedestrians have found themselves a snug little café to tuck into, and those that were left were moving down the pathways in an excruciatingly slow speed as they fought against the currents of icy air. Even as Ryoma moved his lips to speak he could see the silver cloud of dust erupting from his mouth like sparkling pollen.

"…Does it mean that much to you?'

"What does?"

She thought she saw his jaw tighten.

"……Nothing."

* * *

As Sakuno's house drew nearer, Ryoma's mind became more clogged up with frustration; for the more he looked at her, the more he noticed the bag in her hand. And the more he noticed he bag in her hand, the more he seemed to care about the innocent-looking yellow rose half-hidden by the transparent cellophane wrapped around its soft hallow of petals. 

If Echizen Ryoma had ever experienced defeat in an area outside of tennis, he would have recognized this sense of irritation as one which fell under that category. However, even if he did know the feeling of jealousy, he would not be one to show it.

For now he was quite convinced that this new emotion had originated from shock; shock at discovering how easily seduced girls are (by a _single rose_!? It was no wonder they were charmed by him hitting a furry green ball then…), and, more so, at how much one rose earns in return…

If a rose is returned with a kiss on the cheek, what would a bouquet get? How about a box of chocolate? Jewelry?? Hmm…

Then again, maybe he didn't want to go there.

A large acorn tree loomed over the entrance of her house. There was a crisp symphony of rustling as the leaves cackled in a crescendo of wind, then eventually died down to a faint whisper in the darkness. It had such a strong resemblance to child-like murmurs that Ryoma glanced up curiously at the branches to make sure there wasn't a little girl stuck among the web of twigs as the pair of them passed below. They stopped in front of the gate, and Sakuno turned towards her companion.

"Thank you for walking me home." She smiled.

"…It's fine," Ryoma mumbled and pushed his fists deeper into his pockets.

_Crunch._

…And that's when he suddenly realized it was not for him to decide whether he wanted to know what a present would earn in return – for there was, in fact, a box in his pocket for him to try out his theory. His finger tips touched the silky ribbons of the present again, and this time he let them drop and close firmly around the box.

"…Ryuzaki."

His throat felt oddly dry as he drew out the small box from his coat and shoved it in front of her.

* * *

She was already halfway through the gate when his voice sounded behind her. A little surprised, she turned around – half expecting to hear him saying "your skirt was not done up properly" or something insensitive like that – and was overwhelmed by a much greater surprise at the sight of the object he was holding out to her. 

Well, perhaps "stunned" would have been a more fitting word to use.

"Uh…" For two long minutes she struggled to fully comprehend the situation and to make sure she wasn't falling into any sort of trap the boy was constructing. Yet after glancing both ways down her street, upwards into the acorn tree and backwards into her empty house, she decided she was safe.

"…Is this for me?"

"What do you think?"

Reaching out, she gingerly took the box in her hand.

"Um…thanks."

He acknowledged her gratitude with a cool nod. Then there was a long silence.

…Was it her imagination? Or was he waiting for her to do something? …Oh, waiting for her to go in, of course. It was her house after all.

"Well… I'd better go in; otherwise my grandma would throw a psyche at me. Thanks again for-"

"…Free tomorrow?"

She stopped. Dizzily, she felt most of her blood surge to her brain in one giant pump. "…Pardon?"

"Is she – free tomorrow?"

"Who? My grandma?"

"Yes, your grandma."

_Oh._ She managed to buy some time to hide her disappointment as she pretended to ponder over her grandma's weekly schedule.

"…I don't think she is doing anything tomorrow…why?"

His glowing amber eyes shifted towards her house.

"Nothing much… I just have a few things about-" He paused to ruffle his hair. "-my dad that I want to discuss with her."

"Your father!? Is there something wrong with him? Is he okay?"

He looked slightly taken back by her show of concern at first, but then his eyes seemed to soften. He heaved a huge sigh in mock frustration.

"There's never anything wrong with that lunatic," He gave a cold laugh and turned away from her to make his way back up the street. "Although I'm sure he'll be over the moon to know what you just said."

With the faintest of a smirk, the princely aura melted into the dead of night, leaving the air still save the quiet hum of insects from her garden and a distant blare of a vehicle horn.

* * *

Breathing hard, Sakuno slammed the front door behind her and leaned against it. Her heart was pounding like a broken metronome – her blood seemed to be whizzing through her body at sixty miles an hour and she swore her arteries were about to pop any second, leaving her here on the floor of the entrance hall as she slowly bled to death. 

Her temples throbbed as she tried to recollect her thoughts. If she remembered correctly – Echizen Ryoma just walked her home _and_ personally gave her a present. Even though she has never been particularly strong in mathematics, she was smart enough to work out that the probability of that happening was extremely, _incredibly_ low.

She sank weakly to the floor without even bothering to switch on the lights. The pale blue box in clutched in her hand was slightly crushed – whether it had been like that before it was given was beyond her – she had been too bewildered to notice – and even remember – anything that had happened since the instant he held out the present.

With trembling fingers Sakuno tugged at the silver silk that strapped over the blue paper. The knot was loose – and the paper was not sellotaped together all that tightly either. The package blossomed on her knee – and she gaped at the contents for a full minute, completely and utterly speechless.

A rock? What would she need a rock for?

It was not one of those sparkling commercial rocks either – in fact, its jagged edges and sandy texture suggested that it probably came straight from the beach.

She had to admit she was rather confused. Yet upon close inspection of the rock, she noticed that there was something underneath it – she lifted the rock and pulled out a delicate small bag… she couldn't suppress an urge to smile – it was almost like the good old days of treasure-hunting.

As her fingertips brushed lightly over the tiny silk sac she drew in a small breath of delight. The pink material was slippery on her palm as she elevated it up to take a closer look at the abstract representation of a rose embroidered on the front.

The picture of the rose was so exquisite she spent at least another full minute simply staring at it; taking in every curve of its leaves, every point of its thorns. But what aroused her interest was the unusual colour of its petals.

They were a deep crimson at the base but gradually fading into a pale pink at the tip. But surely – the bag was not the present itself? She pulled the soft pink ribbons fastening the sac opening and shook out its contents.

A small piece of notepaper fell onto her awaiting palm, and…. that's it. Even more confused, Sakuno flipped the note open and read it.

_Dear Sakuno-chan,_

_Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoyed your birthday present – I'm sure it went well… XD He is such a wonderful boy deep down (which I'm sure you know). And I'm sure that deep down he knows you are a wonderful girl too._

_Love,_

_Nanako_

_P.S. The rock was just so that he wouldn't be suspicious of the weight of the box – you can throw it at him if he ever tries to be horrible to you (not that he would)._

Sakuno stared at the elegant handwriting and reread the note. Then read it again… and again.

She met Nanako for the first time only months ago. It was during their school's cultural festival in November – their class had organized a maze; and she was stupid enough to volunteer to try it out on that very morning. What followed could be easily foreseen – she got lost (despite the fact that the maze only had three dead ends), she was stuck in there for an hour, and it was not until Nanako heard about it and forced Ryoma to go in and find her that she could escape from the haunting darkness.

Yet things were not as romantic as they sound. There were no hugs, nor kisses upon their reunion in the maze. In fact, not only did Ryoma fail to fit any descriptions of a Knight in Shining Armor in terms of concern or tenderness, he did nothing but scolded at her the whole way to the exit (which she soon discovered to be only two corners away). It was also not until she came out of the maze – extremely pale with red-brimmed eyes – that she was introduced to Ryoma's cousin as "the one who gave me my first default four years ago…oh, and she's Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter."

She felt very much like shrinking into the size of a pea after that.

But now this… Sakuno gazed at the note, at the words "_wonderful girl_"… true, it was somewhat disappointing to find out that the present was not from Ryoma himself. But Nanako-san – who had been willing to smile and comfort her after the maze incident – has once again reached in and stitched up the hole created by Ryoma's bluntness.

She knew the truth. She knew that this present was most likely just an indirect repayment for her grandmother's contribution towards her uncle's tennis career… and not the meaning the note appeared to suggest.

All along she had known that her grandmother was really the one to thank - for all of her interactions with Ryoma had resulted from the connections created from the last generation, without which Ryoma would probably not even know her name, she would remain as one of the faces in the crowd. It was unfair… she did not blame the fan girls for being angry with her.

But…

Sakuno slowly stood up and went into the kitchen to pour herself a drink. As she went past a mirror in the hall she avoided her own reflection – and that of her bandaged cheek. To see that now would completely contradict her thoughts. Gently, she slipped Nanako's note into her pocket.

Just tonight… she would pretend the note was saying what she wanted it to say.

* * *

**A/N:** Haha, due to some complaints regarding the length of my previous chapter, I have written a super-dooper long chapter to make up for it. I hope you are somewhat satisfied now...although don't be too satisfied - there's still a fair way to go before the climax of the story so I'll try my best to keep you on the edge of your seats 'til then. Please keep reading - you won't regret it. Of course, reviews are always more than welcome. 

In this chapter I've also dropped in a few hints about the upcoming 'hot chocolate analogy' - they will probably mean nothing to you at present but if you do ever reread the story once it's finished - you'll know they are there.

Cheers!


	10. Which side to take?

_Beep._

Sakuno groaned slightly as she tried to open her heavy eyelids under her layers of blankets – it was a painfully slow process. Gradually, the blur of pink in front of her widened to a quarter of her normal vision, then a third…

_Beep, Beep,_

... Two thirds…

_Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep,_

…Three quarters, four-fifths…

_Beeeeeeeeeeep--_

Her eyes flew fully open at the shrill noise which bounced off her bedroom walls like a thousand rubber bands, and the furry lining of her duvet came into sharp focus.

"…Oh for_ heaven__'__s_ sa-" Reaching out to slap the alarm clock off, Sakuno choked on the rest of her sentence as her foggy eyes caught sight of the small upright calendar on her desk – and the freshly scribbled note on one of the days complete with a tiny love heart in the corner. With a start, her thoughts cleared with a wave of horrified realization. Realization that the note was, in fact, written in today's box, which was soon followed by a flood of memory of the previous day's events. With an amazing efficiency that surprised even herself, Sakuno scrambled out of bed, wrenched open her wardrobe door, and began racking through her entire collection of skirts and dresses.

The room was silent apart from the occasional flopping noises as item after item of clothing were thrown onto the ground with a hopeless grimace. Gradually, an impressive collection of dresses and shirts formed around Sakuno in the shape of a wrinkly crescent moon.

After frolicking through the selected pile floral fabric, Sakuno finally narrowed her choices down to a pale lavender skirt and a striking sapphire-blue top with a sort of heart-shaped pattern laced into the silky material. Feeling slightly less nervous but still a little unsteady, she trotted downstairs to make herself a nice steaming mug of hot chocolate – which was, of course, known to be the best way to sooth those fluttering nerves at the pit of one's stomach.

As she waited for the marshmallow to melt, Sakuno slowly stirred the rich liquid with a continuous rotating movement with her wrist. She stirred until the bobbing object dissolved into a white puddle over the chocolate, until the steam of the drink had evaporated to a wisp of gas spiraling up toward her face. Finally - as the dark swirls turned into thick blobs of creaminess - she stopped and took a small sip.

It was a beautiful morning. The house was silent yet outside the sparrows were chirping away with their merry little tunes. There were clouds drifting in the background of crystal blue – coloured a shimmering silver by the golden threads from the sun – yet just enough to provide wisps of shadow which brought out the brilliant radiant warmth of sunlight. As Sakuno was enjoying the moment of peace, a grey bird fluttered in through the open window and landed on the window sill. Opening its pale yellow beak, a tiny series of trills poured out from deep within its throat – Sakuno smiled as she watched its soft feathers tremble from the feeble vibratos.

The clock out in the hallway struck nine – it was probably still too early for him to come.

Yet she pressed the warm mug against her chest so that the heat could comfort the fluttering feeling within her ribs. It was a familiar feeling – this nervousness – yet there was somehow a slight difference between now and four years ago… this was a better sensation – exciting, anticipating for something good, knowing that that person would bear the same feeling…

"…Do you always space out like that? Or it's just whenever I happen to see you?"

The razor-sharp voice, shooting out of nowhere, sliced through her thoughts as smooth as if it was a knife piercing the layers of icing on a fruit cake. She looked up at the tall figure which had been leaning against the kitchen doorframe for - God knows how long - and paled at the sight of Ryoma looking back at her with that familiar cool smirk.

And then followed the familiar blankness. As they eyed each other in absolute silence – as if someone had hit the pause button on a remote and frozen them in a still-frame. Time could have stopped – if they couldn't hear each other's breathing, their rhythmic, but strangely out of phase, inhalation and exhalation of air. This awkward part has obviously not changed much since four years ago.

And, like most of the times before, it was she who broke the silence – an act which once earned his criticism of "talking too much" – yet continued to save the pair from staring at each other on several occasions. This time, unfortunately being one of her worst attempts, her voice came out as a high-pitched squeak.

"Gosh, Ryoma-kun!! How long have you been standing there for!?"

He shrugged casually, "Only a few minutes."

"A-A few minutes!?" She exclaimed in disbelief. To her it did not seem any different than had he been there for ten days."How on earth did you get in?"

"How else can you get in?" He gestured toward the entrance hallway with a hint of amusement in his tone.

And then she suddenly remembered the brief moment of puzzlement which crossed her mind as she was coming down the stairs - as she noted the front door was slightly ajar, and not bothering to close it as she was too preoccupied with thoughts of her visitor. Besides, she thought it was probably not of great importance since her grandma often did so to let some air into the house. But of course she wasn't about to admit that.

"…Well, the custom is to_ knock_ before coming into other people's house."

"That only applies for _closed_ doors." He retorted solemnly, yet his eyes lit up with a victorious flicker, which Sakuno tried to ignore but knew she had failed from the heat radiating out from below her skin.

Sighing, she soon gave up trying to argue with him, for she knew very well she was no match against his sharp tongue – which has become just as famous as his tennis skills. Instead, she went out to close the front door before any more "unexpected guests" could come in. Although he probably shouldn't be categorized under "unexpected" since she did have a fuzzy memory of him telling her about it last night…despite the shameful fact that she had forgotten completely about it until three minutes ago. Oh well, it's not like Ryoma was coming to see _her_ anyway.

"Ryoma!"

The silence was interrupted once again when Ryuzaki Sumire entered the kitchen with an empty coffee mug in one hand and the morning papers in the other. With a somewhat masculine movement, she dropped the mug into the sink and turned to smile at the pair of adolescents standing in her kitchen – one with a rather guilty expression on her face, and the other with an expression somewhere between triumph and smugness.

"Why are you in _my_ house, Ryoma?" There was a sly glint in her eyes as she eyed her former student with feigned suspicion.

"… I'm hungry."

Sakuno could feel her mouth twitching but fought to keep her face straight. The last thing she wanted now was to give him that satisfaction.

"……Huh, so - our house is the equivalent of your pantry?" Sumire could feel the blood pulsing in her temples.

"Pretty much, I know you have Japanese-style breakfast-" He was halfway in his confirmation when he found his former coach's snapping fingers inches from his cheeks. He was just about to jump back in alarm, but the elder woman was well familiarized with his quick reflexes and had pinched a piece of flesh between her fingers before he could be given the chance. It was a split-second difference, and ten seconds of torture.

Never underestimate old ladies. It has been so long since Junior High that Ryoma had almost forgotten that.

How_ could _he have forgotten? It had been among the ten golden rules stuck on the walls of the male changing room – along with others such as "Never mention food in front of Momoshiro" and "Never ask Inui for water"… things Ryoma thought he would never ever rid his mind of.

But clearly he did – and now he knew what a terrifying mistake that was, and he swore he would never let it slip from his mind again; for her laugh after seeing the pain and hatred in his eyes was far, _far_ beyond evil. Her fingers tightened and performed a higher level of the renowned "Ryuzaki Punishment" on the boy who had so often experienced it in his "Ochibi" days (not that he isn't still _Ochibi_ now…once Kikumaru Eiji's mind has been set, it has been set). Then, as if softened by the sight of Sakuno's worried face (she was trying very hard to hide it, of course), the old coach loosened her grip with another chuckle.

"...Ow." Ryoma rubbed his red swollen cheek with his hand. The coolness had been partially replaced by red-hot frustration. "What was _that_ for!?"

"_You still have lots more to work on,_" Sumire imitated Ryoma's tone and earned the return of his positively icy glare, to which she smirked and ignored.

"Ryoma-kun - Are you alright??" Sakuno hurried over and insisted for him to remove his hand so that she could examine the raw spot. Sumire shook her head at her granddaughter's concern and smiled secretly to herself. _She certainly has no acting talents whatsoever._

"Don't worry about him, Sakuno. If he has withstood getting half his eyelid sliced off then this little bit of pain would be nothing in comparison…right?" she said and smiled at Ryoma slyly.

But her glee was interrupted by a series of light chirps. With a jolt of nervousness, Sakuno recognized the sound as that of the doorbell.

"I-I'll get it," Sakuno was horrified when she heard her old stutters reemerging, and took a deep breath before stepping out into the entrance hall… just as she thought she heard her grandmother starting a lecture about manners and something like "see? That was called a _doorbell_…".

_As if that__'__s going to work. _She chuckled silently as she pictured the bored expression on Ryoma's face right now.

"Hey Ryuzaki!" Akito's smile lifted her mood even more after she had answered the door. The teen was wearing jeans and a black sweatshirt, his hazel hair severely tangled together from the wind despite his obvious attempt at smoothing it with his hand. The usual warmth flowed from his eyes and trailed over her face, making her nerves tingle with self-consciousness.

"C-Come on in!" She smiled back and stepped back to make room for him to squeeze by. "Um…well, actually a friend of mine has also decided to drop by…"

She thought she saw a wrinkle appear in between his brows – but it must have been her imagination since it vanished almost immediately.

"…Really? That's great! You can introduce me to her…or him." He added hesitantly as she showed him into the living room and his eyes caught sight of Ryoma and Sumire in the interlinked kitchen. At their entry into the room, the two had stopped abruptly from an argument about the importance of modesty and was eyeing Akito with an instinctive dislike - well, at least the younger one was.

"Ah, you… you were the guy who helped me last night in the Café! Weren't you?? To knock down that lunatic?" Akito's eyes widened in recognition and he smiled, warmly, at the younger boy.

Ryoma raised an eyebrow. "And you were the guy who _needed_ my help, weren't you?" His tone was frosty.

Akito's smile faded at the suggestive remark. An awkward silence followed – the temperature in the room seemed to have dropped ten degrees within an instant.

"…Hmm. Let me do a better introduction, eh?" Ryuzaki Sumire laughed dryly and discreetly gave Ryoma a hard squeeze in the back as a warning. "Ryoma, this is Tezuka Akito, the Head Waiter at Sakuno's work. Akito, this is Echizen Ryoma, the most arrogant little brat Seigaku has ever had."

"That last line was quite unnecessary-" He paused. The prodigy's eyes narrowed. "Tezuka?"

"Heh, that's right… He's Tezuka Kunimitsu's cousin." Sumire smiled at the Prince's shocked expression - which any other normal person would interpret as an expression of blankness.

_**That**__ explains why Buchou chose that caf__é__ for the reunion__…_ Ryoma's facial muscle twitched in disgust as he glared at the young man standing a few meters away. _Never mind... at least I have an excuse for hating him now..._

"Small world, isn't it?" Sakuno smiled cheerfully at the two boys in turn, completely and utterly unaware of Ryoma's unusually emotional face.

Akito smiled a little and walked up to Sumire to offer her a bag containing a box of Japanese Snacks. "I apologize for intruding in your house on this peaceful morning. Please accept this humble gift, Ryuzaki-sensei." His voice was sincere and firm, a helpful tool which lifts the listener's spirits for no reason - often used in "taming" grumpy customers.

"Nothing less from Tezuka's cousin! What wonderful manners…unlike _someone_-" Accepting the gift with a grateful nod, the elderly woman glanced at Ryoma with a small suggestive grin playing on her lips. "-who doesn't ring the doorbell _or_ knock, but walks right in the front door requesting - sorry, _demanding_ - for food!"

"_Che_." Ryoma looked away, obviously irritated. "It's _your_ fault for not shutting the door properly."

"_Ooh_, so every time I want some fresh air in the house I'd have to deal with _you_, do I?"

"Well, if you want I can bring my cat along-"

Sumire reached out to give his cheek another hard squeeze, but Ryoma was quicker - this time he ducked just in time and her hand grabbed nothing but thin air.

Sakuno was surprised to see a slightly impressed smile as her grandma withdrew her hand. Although she knew her grandma was never going to admit that she was proud of his quickness in learning from his mistakes – which was no doubt a result of her tight training programs.

"Ryoma, you should learn to be more like Akito…at least manner-wise anyway."

Ryoma snorted and went to sit down at the lush leather couch without invitation. "Maybe if you gave me a years' supply of Ponta, I'll consider it."

"I don't know about a year's supply, but _one_ I can quite easily manage." A freshly chilled can of Grape Ponta appeared in front of his face, so close he could feel the sheet freezing vapors drifting out over his nose. He swept the can from Sakuno's fingers and smirked up at her.

"Then the deal's off."

--

The effects of the boy's words were amazing. Akito had never seen a girl's face deepen into such a beautiful shade of scarlet in such a short time. Although she recovered from the after-effects of the Prince's infamous smirk almost just as quickly, her smile at Akito was still a bit absent-minded. This Akito noted with a somewhat tingly sense of annoyance. But his trained amiable personality kept his smile steady as his eyes silently studied Ryoma in detail.

He had heard of him from his cousin before this encounter.

The proud arrogant tennis prodigy who shocked the Japan Junior High Tennis Society in his first year back from America.

The cold, solemn, but undoubtedly good-looking boy who erupts a love storm wherever he went.

The "pillar of support" for Seigaku Jr. High Boys Tennis Club who gained the trust and support of his own cousin with his outstanding performance in tennis matches.

Now as he looked at the famous boy sitting across from him on the leather sofa, he could understand how all the descriptions fitted in. But…

"Would you like to have anything to drink, Akito-kun?" A crisp voice dragged him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, anything will be fine." He softened his trademark smile and gazed after the girl as she clumsily stumbled into the kitchen and hooked out a glass from deep within a cupboard. She must have used too much force, for it shot over the edge and landed onto the counter with a loud crash. It was unbroken though – a miracle.

"Quite clumsy at home, too. I see." Akito laughed aloud.

Blushing furiously, she lowered her head and filled the glass with iced cranberry juice.

"After having been like that for four years-" A cold voice interrupted, accompanied with a flicker of golden eyes. "_Somehow_ I don't think it's going to change now."

"Really? But she is normally _very_ _efficient_ in my café." Akito replied with an easy smile, but his eyes seemed to have hardened a fraction.

After hearing their comments of her, Sakuno really didn't know whether she should be happy or not.

Sumire chuckled at the evident rivalry between the two boys and shook her head, quite fascinated.

_Ryoma__'__s got a match there. But I wonder if it__'__s because Akito is Tezuka__'__s cousin__…__ or is it__…__?_

"Ryoma-kun… you came by today to see Grandma, right? In that case, Akito and I will go upstairs…" Sakuno suggested brightly - completely unaware of the mixture of emotions which flashed through the three faces in front of her.

There was a twinkle of amusement in Sumire's eyes, a flicker of irritation in Ryoma's, and an instant of relief in Akito's.

Ryoma did his best to disguise this, however, for he was a man – and men don't admit their frustration in the face of their rival. Instead, he shot a meaningful glance at his old coach – who only pursed her lips and seemed to be sneering at him with a "this is what you get for using me as an excuse" glint in her eyes. He narrowed his eyes... should have known that old hag wasn't so easy to deal with. He was, however, not one to give up so quickly in competitions of any kind... especially this one.

"Wait, I thought you wanted me to come and give her tennis lessons today?" He directed the question at his ex-coach and pointed to Sakuno, who also turned her eyes onto her grandmother in surprise.

"Did I?" Sumire grinned, her faded hazel eyes sparkled with an impressed fascination. For indeed - this was a one-way question; if she answered yes - Sakuno was going with him for a lesson, and if she answered otherwise...

"Oh, so you called me all the way here for nothing?" Ryoma gave her a cold glare. "I do have better things to do, you know."

"...Aah I do apologize, Ryoma... I guess my memory has been failing me these days," Sumire laughed and turned towards her puzzled granddaughter. "Guess it'll be unkind of us not to at least treat him as a guest, after he has come all the way for nothing."

Sakuno stared at her grandmother in disbelief. Yet she was so overwhelmed with a strange mixture of excitement, relief, and disappointment that she was almost too weak to speak.

"Oh, and sorry Sakuno… I forgot to tell you that I'm also going to go out this morning – I promised a match with Mrs. Mizuno... gosh my memory has indeed been hopeless recently!" Sumire gently massaged her temples with her fingers as she heaved an extremely exaggerated sigh.

"Eh?? But you never told me-" Sakuno choked.

"I just forgot to tell you, that's all." Sumire smiled apologetically and made her way towards the door.

Sakuno gulped and hurriedly eyed Ryoma, then back to her grandmother again, "But I thought he's talking to you about his da-"

"It was my _dad_ who forced me to come," Ryoma interrupted calmly. "Did you actually think I _wanted_ to come?"

"...I'll be at the tennis court just around the block if you need me." She winked at her speechless granddaughter and made her way to the hallway, not forgetting to lower her head and murmur "Nice work" as she strolled past Ryoma. In return, he flashed her a charming smirk - to which she only sighed and gave him a warning glance - don't overdo it. Then, smiling knowingly, she left the rest to her granddaughter.

A full minute passed as silence reigned the living room; it was a silence which bore different meanings for each individual that sat through it, yet one thing was for sure - it was very far from a companiable silence. In fact, there was such an accumulation of fiery sparks in the room the carpet almost caught on fire. This was, however, always oblivious to the person who was actually the reason for such a situation.

"So," Sakuno set down the glass of juice in front of Akito carefully, the ice clinked lightly with the glass rims. "How are you both?"

"…Shouldn't you be more concerned about yourself, Ryuzaki? Does your cheek still hurt?" Akito inquired worriedly, and Sakuno thought she saw Ryoma rolling his eyes out of the corner of her eye.

"Er-" She began but was cut off almost at the same moment by Ryoma's cool voice.

"You know, you should answer her question first. That's _manners_." Obviously the whole talk about being polite had annoyed him more than she realized.

"R-Ryoma-kun, I really don't mind-"

"Well, it was rude of _you_ to cut her off like that." Akito shot back.

"What were you trying to say to me, Ryuzaki? I think someone interrupted you." Ryoma raised his voice purposefully and flashed the other boy a cold smirk.

An awkward silence fell upon the living room again.

Sakuno sighed, lost for words as she attempted to interpret the situation.

_What__'__s going on? Why are they acting like this? Neither is like their normal self __–__ well, maybe Ryoma-kun is__…_Her eyes flickered up to the boy with tousled green hair and silent fire smoldering within his sharp feline eyes. _Although even he seems a little__…__over the top today._

"Uh-I'm fine, Akito-kun…" She smiled tensely at the other boy. "My cheek is healing already. Thank you."

Relieved, Akito smiled back and gracefully lifted the glass of juice up to his lips.

Ryoma's face frosted over with a dark irritation.

Akito's smile only brightened. "So, I've heard about your tennis skills from Kunimitsu-san." Despite his abnormally intense dislike for the other boy, he decided to make an effort at striking up a conversation for the sake of the hostess.

"…So?" The younger boy's eyes wandered around the room, not really listening to what Akito was saying.

Akito noted this with a challenging smile. "I may not look like it, but I play tennis as well."

The golden eyes paused. Slowly, they slid back to focus on Akito.

"…Are you challenging me?" His eyes were lit by a threatening glow.

_Oh no. _This was what Sakuno dreaded. _These two playing a match? We__'__ll be there forever__…_Her mouth grew oddly dry. But the biggest shock was what Akito said in response.

"Oh I'd never mean to do _that_… but yeah, if it's a match you want I'd love to accompany you anytime - that is, if I hadn't sprung my wrist." With an apologetic smile, he slowly pulled the sleeve of her jersey up to reveal a bandage around his right hand. A tiny gasp escaped Sakuno's lips as she reached out to touch his arm.

"You never told me…!! Was it from yesterday's…?" Her words were dripping with worry.

Akito smiled tenderly and patted the top of her head with his left hand. "It's okay… it doesn't hurt."

Ryoma felt an unfamiliar pang in his chest as he watched the pair… a rush of anger shot up to his brain and shattered his coldness.

"…If you're just scared then you could have just said so," Ryoma said through gritted teeth.

"Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno exclaimed in disbelief. "How can you doubt him like that-" But she was soon stopped by a hand on her arm as it gently but firmly pushed back her words.

"You don't believe me?" His lips curved into a smile – he knew he had somewhat gained the upper hand in this situation, judging from the concerned look on the face of the girl next to her. "I guess I have no choice but to agree to this match then."

Sakuno was speechless. "But – Akito-kun, you can't _possibly_ – what if-?"

Akito gulped down the last mouthful of juice and placed it gently back on the table. With a wider smile, he glanced at Ryoma with a challenging life of his eyebrows. "Are you coming?"

Ryoma's eyes sparked with anger and he, too, drained the remaining liquid in his can of Ponta. Yet in his extreme desire for victory – his usually sharp hawk-like eyes failed to catch the thoughtful glint in Akito's eyes, or the flash of cunningness behind his warm smile.

--

The winter sun drifted down over the tennis courts, filtered by the thin silver clouds, like diluted maple syrup. Its gentle heat simmered the concrete – giving it a shimmering gold trim like oil seeping out of a sizzling sausage on a barbecue. There was hardly a breeze in the air – yet Sakuno felt frozen with dread. Sitting on one of the sideline benches, she bit her lip and repressed an urge to scream at the top of her lungs in protest about the absurdity of the situation.

In front of her were two young men.

One of them was smirking slightly, a fluorescent ball swiveling on his outstretched tennis racquet as he adjusted his white cap with the hand not holding the racquet so that the bill sat comfortably over his glowing honey-coloured eyes. Under the weak sunlight his beautiful muscular physique shone like a bronze statue - with the shadows on his legs showing off the dense streaks he had keenly trained.

The other was standing silently on the other side of the net, with a light smile playing on his lips and a challenging hazel glimmer beneath his brows. The shadow of the back wall of the tennis court shaded his body – yet his slim legs contained a sportsman's beauty which rivaled that of his opponent.

Both of them were brimming with confidence, however – a confidence which stated that they would rather persist until death than accept defeat.

They were so different – yet so similar.

"Anytime, Ryoma-kun," Akito said.

Ryoma's eyebrows twitched. "Don't call me that."

"Why not? I'm older than you."

"…" Ryoma gritted his teeth and bounced the ball, seeking comfort in the familiar rhythmic beats.

"Because you'll regret being older than me."

It was a perfect twist serve. Unpredictable, lightning-fast, and immensely powerful – it whizzed past Akito's ear with an angry buzz. Yet Akito only grinned.

"Nice! No wonder Kunimitsu-san was so impressed."

Ryoma had to suppress an urge to scowl at the sight of his dazzling smile.

The next twist serve was, as expected, angrier than the first. Akito's lips twitched. How easily-provoked he was… the sense of immaturity which Akito had sensed upon talking to him had not been his imagination after all..

Akito reached out and took the serve – the power was far beyond what his wrist could take. He fell to the ground in pain, kneeling beside his racquet which had flown out of his hand. He tightly held his bandaged right wrist with his left hand – he could feel the bursts of pain pulsing within the white gauze like oscillating electricity. There was a period of silence, and there she came – as he had anticipated.

"Akito-kun!! Oh my God, are you…" Sakuno kneeled down beside him and touched his shoulder. "Can you hear me, Akito-kun? Are you okay?"

He grimaced but nodded, then made an act to gently push her aside so as to continue the match.

"Wha- Akito-kun!! You're not thinking that you can play like this??" Sakuno took hold of his sleeve and half-dragged him to the benches, where he could see her grandmother waiting – wait, why is she there?? …Oh, she had a match with her friend…that's right…

She looked equally worried, yet less frantic than her granddaughter. Reaching for his hand, Ryuzaki-sensei lightly pressed the swollen area to check that his bones were not fractured.

"No fractures, but it would be best to check again at the hospital. I can drive you."

"But I can walk myself…"

"Akito-kun!" He was slightly taken back by the angry look in the Sakuno's eyes, her hand was still clutching his sleeve – and it was trembling.

"……All right. Thank you."

With a nod, Sumire acknowledged his gratitude and gestured for him and Sakuno to follow her.

Yet before they left the courts, he saw Sakuno turn back towards the lonely figure frozen by the net – half-way in an act to jump over the net to the other side, at the realization at Sakuno's approach, he withdrew to a standing position, the smirk was no longer visible – instead his expression was solemn and even a little alarmed.

"…you - how _could_ you, Ryoma-kun…" Sakuno's voice shook as she said in a hoarse whisper. "You knew he was injured, you knew how much his hand means to him, and yet you used the twist serve! With full strength!! Do you want to win that much? Well, _now_ are you happy? Now that you have won and he can't work anymore?"

She took a deep breath to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes. Ryoma's expression remained unreadable as he listened to her outburst. Silently, he accepted her accusations, and for the first time in his life – the thought of a comeback did not even occur to him.

Without a second glance at the silent figure, Sakuno walked back towards Akito, who thought he caught a glimpse of a trail of moisture on her cheek, yet before he had a chance to look properly she had ran past him.

In the end, she took neither side.

A bitter smile formed on Akito's lips. His wrist was still pulsating as if it had a life of its own, and with each thud a jab of sharp heat shot through his bones – he could no longer feel his fingers as they dangled uselessly at his side like five woodblocks. Perhaps… he was the one who was being childish. Perhaps he was the one who had underestimated his opponent.

Well, if he hadn't underestimated him he would have had to fake the cold sweat anyway... yet the pain was real, that was the only flaw in his plan.


	11. The Unknown and Unexpected

_Arrgh._ Dipping the piece of dusty rag into a red bucket, Sakuno made a face of disgust. As she soaked the faded material in the warm soapy water, her eyes wandered around the cottage, just as her mind wandered back to the peculiar events a few days ago.

Ever since the match, she had not spoken a single word to Ryoma. Not in class. Not in the corridors. Not even when they brushed past each other by the shoe lockers. She hadn't even so much as laid her eyes on him. And even when she did, it was a hard glare followed by a toss of her braids.

On the other hand, Ryoma did seem to finally take more notice of her. On quite a few occasions, she thought she caught a flash of amber as the class was filing into their classroom, yet she was somewhat relieved it never went beyond that. If he had approached her in the week following the incident, she did not know what they could have said to each other – but one thing was for sure, the experience would not have been terribly pleasant.

It wasn't as though she had been on the verge of snapping for the whole week, however. She used what was left of her self-control (which she has always taken a great deal of pride in), and somehow managed to appear serene in public. The anger was gone, what remained was a deep pool of loss, reproach, and traces of pain from betrayal.

She had not believed Echizen Ryoma to be that kind of person; or perhaps she had only been reluctant to believe he was that kind of person. The truth, however, was not always as pleasant as she had believed.

She smiled bitterly at the thought as she wringed the rag above the bucket. An opaque waterfall tumbled into the murky pool.

How could he possibly use full power on a wounded man like that? Couldn't he see Akito wasn't one of those opponents who could be played seriously against? Yes, if it had been Ryoma who had been hurt she believed he could have somehow won the match anyway... yet Akito wasn't Ryoma, and nothing in the world was ever going to change that.

Sakuno clenched her fists.

_Nevertheless, those fan club girls do seem rather satisfied by the fact that I've finally had some senses knocked into me…_

The layer of dust under the counter is so thick that one wipe was enough to stain the material black.

She shook her head in annoyance and threw the rag back into the plastic container.

This is endless.

_And no one else is helping me…_

_If Akito was here, then he would undoubtedly-_

_Hey… Where __**is**__ he today?_

She lifted her eyes to scan around the staff members scattered around the café. The Head Waiter was no where to be seen.

She frowned as she stood up to study the roster sheet stuck onto the notice board.

_Hmm…He is on today's list… why isn't he here yet? He's not normally late to work._

_Strange…_

She lifted the bucket with both hands, intending to change the water before it overflows with lumps of dust particles and blobs of mud.

It was surprisingly heavy considering its size, but she managed to drag it to the drain outside and dump its contents through the tiny holes filtering substances entering the underground waterway. She began refilling the bucket using a nearby tap, but couldn't help but curse softly when she heard the backdoor of the cottage bang shut behind her from a strong gust of wind.

She sighed and went over to pull open the door, leaving the tap still running into the half-filled bucket.

But just as her fingers closed over the handle, it turned and the door swung open by itself.

She jumped back in alarm, but heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that the person behind it was, in fact, only a fellow waitress, Madoka.

A cool surprise also flashed within the dark eyes of Madoka. She nodded calmly at the younger girl and brushed past her to the clearing behind the café. Her inky black hair was gathered in a loose ponytail at the base of her neck and it seemed to claw at the air as a breeze swept past the pair.

Sakuno hesitated as she watched the other girl draw out a packet of cigarettes from her skirt pocket and hooked out a slender white tube with her long pale fingers.

Yet Sakuno had made up her mind. She drew a deep breath and walked around until she was face-to-face with the girl.

Madoka glanced down at her and raised an eyebrow. The lighter made snapping noises as she attempted to ignite the cigarette.

"How can I help, Ryuzaki?" Her voice was as thick and rich as cream.

"Um…I-I'm just wondering if you knew where Akito-kun is…?"

The end of the cigarette glowed amber as it caught the flame, causing a thin wisp of grey smoke to spiral up towards the sapphire sky. The older girl closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Sakuno could almost see the black gas rush down her windpipe, corroding the soft tissues of her lungs. And yet Madoka smiled.

She plucked the tube from her lips and tapped it elegantly with the tip of her finger, a shower of silvery ash floated down onto the earth.

"…Why do you want to know?"

"Uh…it's nothing important, really, it's just that… I-I think he's supposed to be here today - which I don't think he is -" Sakuno stammered and blushed when the explanation wasn't quite expressed as she had anticipated.

Madoka chuckled lightly and took another gulp of fume from the cigarette.

"He's… unwell." She replied while lifting her face to the weak sunlight, her sharp features seemed to glow with a faint halo.

But somehow, her expression, her gestures, her words did not convince Sakuno that Akito was unwell.

"…I-I apologize for my rudeness, but is that… true?" She gathered her courage and voiced her doubt. Both of her eyes were on the other girl's face in hope of finding a twitch, a frown, a smile, anything that could indicate a contradiction.

Madoka was silent for a while. She simply stood there sucking on the crumbling cigarette. Neither confirming nor contradicting.

Until her lips curved into a smirk. Her eyes lowered to those of Sakuno's, and Sakuno could see the amusement twinkling within the dark pupils.

"Thank goodness you noticed."

"Eh?"

"Now he can't blame me for telling you, because you forced me into it." She laughed and flicked a strand of hair over her shoulder. "...Well, you must remember the drunken man who nearly killed you last week?"

Sakuno blushed in shame but nodded.

"-Well, Akito got laid off because he attacked him."

A loud splash sounded behind Sakuno. The water was overflowing from the bucket, trickling down the side like droplets of crystals. Yet neither of them took the slightest notice. The tap kept running, and the liquid kept pouring.

"…What!?" Sakuno's voice trembled in shock as she gaped back at Madoka, clearly not believing what she had just heard.

"It's only temporary…until the Owner decides whether to keep him at the job." Madoka smiled sympathetically at the younger girl, she was trying to comfort her.

"B-But…That's _ridiculous_! What else could he do? Let him _strangle_ me?" Angry sparks lit up Sakuno's eyes as she unconsciously raised her voice.

Madoka shrugged and exhaled another puff of smoke. "But he is a customer nonetheless…and you know that customers always come first."

Of course Sakuno knew that. But at that moment, to admit that would symbolize defeat.

"But -"

"There's no point arguing with me! Akito did tell me not to tell you… which I can see why now -" Madoka smirked again and glanced at Sakuno's red face and balled fists. She looked like she was going to have a heart attack any minute. "-But you did _insist_ to know, right? Although I still wish I wasn't the one who broke the news to you…" She sighed.

Sakuno hesitated and relaxed a little as she smiled back at Madoka.

"Madoka-san…Thanks for telling me."

"Hmm, no worries… I mean, you would've found out eventually anyway." She flicked the diminished cigarette into a nearby bin with dead accuracy.

"…Good luck." She said quietly.

_Good luck trying to help Akito…although there isn't very much you can do._

Sakuno bowed and shot one last grateful smile to her before turning back to the overflowing bucket. It was now resting in a deep puddle of colourless liquid.

She switched off the tap.

_I know. But I still have to try._

* * *

Usually she loves sunsets.

The only time when the ball of fire seem to soften and melt into the sky like a slab of butter, staining it with warm shades of crimson, gold, and amber.

It's always so short, and therefore so precious, as its patterns differ from day to day.

Every moment of it is the first and the final moment.

It reminds Sakuno of how valuable time really is.

But now she has no time to admire the magnificent array of lights above her.

Her destination still seem a far distance away, and the dimming sunset only seem to be a huge clock reminding her of each second ticking by.

The young girl tore through the city streets, feeling the wind undoing her loose braids and fluttering her clothes.

Her mind was occupied with only one thought.

_I must see him._

Her sandals made rapid clicking noises on the footpath, attracting several looks of curiosity. But she barely noticed. Even as she sprinted past the school gates of Seishun High School she did not so much as glanced back at the familiar brick fence.

Otherwise she would have surely seen the figure leaning against it, bathing in the fading sunlight with a can of Ponta crackling in his hand.

* * *

**A/N:** Wow it's been quite a while! Sooo sorry guys it's absolutely terrible of me... think it's about time that I finish up this story too! But thank you once again to you lovely people who have dropped in to read my story - you have all been amazing and such awesome supporters. I especially want to take my hat off to my loyal readers - you are my greatest source of inspiration and motivation and will always continue to be :) Sorry again for the late late laaaate update and hope you enjoy reading my humble creations!


	12. Urge to Protect

The sunset that day was one of the most stunning ones that he has ever seen. The dazzling folds of tangerine and gold, the tender trickles of syrupy rays, and the rosy sparkles of peach and cream simply took Akito's breath away as he admired it from his second-floor bedroom.

The world was silent, peaceful, as if it had never been disrupted by mankind.

He yawned.

Usually he would be working at this time of the day; perhaps the rarity of sunset sightings was why he valued them so much.

It was when the last wisps of pink were just beginning to dim into a swirl of deep violet when the still air was pierced by the shrill cry of his doorbell.

_This is the problem about living alone…there's no one else to answer the door or phone for you even when you__** really**__ don't feel like doing those things._

Nevertheless, the boy stood up and made his way down to the hallway.

* * *

The sight of her wiped the casual smile off his face.

She was puffing so hard that she nearly fell into him when he opened the door, and even though she didn't, she had to hold onto the frame for support as she tried to catch her breath.

Perspiration glimmered along her hairline like a string of rosy pearls, and yet her hazel eyes were abnormally bright due to the exercise. They locked onto his as she hurriedly gasped out fragments of a phrase.

"Y-you...why...didn't you...tell me...got laid off..." She struggled to keep her mind straight, but the shock of the news was still fresh. It was like a bulldozer, stripping down the framework of her logic, and destroying her calmness along with it.

Akito was silent for a moment. A cold breeze rustled the bushes in the park opposite his house.

The atmosphere was filled with a heaviness symbolizing the coming of night.

But he simply stood there, in the doorway, gazing at her pink cheeks and arched eyebrows with a tender smile playing on his lips. Even when he did finally spoke, it was totally irrelevant:

"Do you want to come in?" He asked politely, taking a step back in a gesture of welcome.

"E-Eh? Uh...N-no. Thanks, but no... I just need to talk to you about a few things... in person." Her breathing had gradually slowed to normal, so she straightened up, remembering to quickly fix her messy fringe from the aftereffects of the run.

"Hmm…? How can I help then, ma'am?" He smiled down at her and purposely put on his professional accent.

But Sakuno did not seem to notice. Instead, her frown deepened as she crossed her arms and threw him a hard look.

"Why didn't you tell me you got laid off!?" She demanded.

"... I didn't want you to worry about a small thing like that." Akito continued to gaze at her with the same easy smile on his face.

"Small!? _Small_!? If you think getting laid off is small then I'd like to know what is _big_?"

"Uh…things like getting fired, getting killed -"

"I'm being serious! I found out anyway, didn't I? Personally I would've preferred hearing it from _you_..."

"…I'm sorry." Although his smile faded a little, his voice was sincere.

Nearly on the verge of bursting into tears, she continued in a thick voice.

"And the thing is, you didn't even do anything wrong! You were just trying to save me and it was all because of my bad skills but why is it _you_ who gets punished and not -"

Suddenly, she stopped. Realization swept over her in gigantic waves.

"You didn't…cover up for me did you?" She whispered in a trembling voice.

When she didn't receive a reply, her hands shot up to her mouth.

"You took full responsibility…that's why you have such a heavy punishment and I -"

"I did do something wrong, Ryuzaki... I could've called the police, I could've tried to restrain the man...yet I didn't." He smiled and reached out to brush a lock of hair from Sakuno's face. "Don't worry, it's only temporary… I could even be back at work tomorrow."

"But you could also lose your job! You don't have a family to rely on and even quit school to work...this is a matter of your life!" She cried. Tears finally began to fall like beads of colourless crystals.

He looked at her fearful face in silence. Then his fingers trailed down to her cheeks from her hair and flicked away a single tear.

"It was worth the risk…I would not have forgiven myself had I let him touch you a second longer." Warm fingers brushed over the fine fibers of her red stripy scarf, over the spot where the skin below still clearly bore the evidences of that night's drama.

"I don't regret what I did."

The streetlights suddenly sprang into life as they sprayed their warm pale rays onto the deserting streets.

The sky had darkened to a deep shade of navy blue, and a few shimmering dots scattered upon it indicated the presence of the early risers - the few stars and planets eager to show off their magnificent glows to the creatures on Earth.

Sakuno's eyes widened as Akito withdrew his hand from her neck.

"How can you say that!? How can you put everything upon your own shoulders? You_ idiot_..." Her voice grew quieter and he watched another drop of moisture leak out from under her eyelids beneath her fringe.

"I _am_ an idiot; you should know that by now." Akito laughed gently and gently shook her by the shoulders. "It'll be okay, don't worry…"

Slowly, she looked up and Akito saw the dark pools of vision glimmer with sadness and reproach.

"I _do_ worry though..." She murmured.

The temperature is cooling fast. Shivering slightly, Sakuno was regretting not having grabbed the jacket she left at The Snow Café. Oh well, she's going back anyway.

"Well, sorry for bothering you…I should probably go now." She broke the brief silence between them as she turned away from the boy towards the gate. He nodded silently and escorted her down to the gate.

"I should walk you home," He said.

"No…I'm going back to the café first," She refused harshly, still angry at him for keeping the news from her.

She trudged out through the entrance without glancing back. But before she crossed the road, Akito caught sight of a swift turn, though only of her upper body. Her dark brown hair fluttered from the movement like a sheet of silk, and her voice was as cool and light as a mountain stream.

"…If they fire you, I'll resign."

* * *

_I would definitely resign if I was a spy._

Behind an ancient cherry blossom tree across the road from the Tezuka residence, a boy lightly slapped his cheeks to sharpen his numbing senses. His honey-coloured eyes were half closed as he peered across the road from behind the trunk.

Ryoma was exhausted.

He hasn't the faintest idea why he had the urge to follow Ryuzaki. And he hasn't the faintest idea why he surrendered to the urge. Or why he was, technically speaking, eavesdropping on her conversation with Tezuka's cousin.

Yet he still strained his ears to pick up single words or phrases which he could piece together to grasp the general picture.

So far he has done a pretty good job…he noted the idea that Akito had gotten laid off because of the "drunk man incident" at the café a week ago…and that Ryuzaki was angry because he had taken "full responsibility" and kept it from her… or something along those lines.

He massaged his stiff neck with his fingers as he tried to lip-read Akito's reply to one of Ryuzaki's questions, since he had missed most of what she had said as she had her back to him. A frown creased his forehead as his amber eyes narrowed in concentration.

_'I am an idiot"…Did he just say that? _God_ can you please be a bit more original?_

_Is he trying to impress her or something? Acting all hero-like...ugh._

Ryoma groaned in resentment and pressed his hand on the trunk so hard his knuckles turned white.

_And anyway, why am I still here!? It's only because she seemed to be in such a hurry that I followed her... not that she isn't usually in a hurry anyway. But the fact that she was totally oblivious of me was…a first._

_I just simply wanted to see what made her so anxious._

_An accident? A car crash, maybe? A death?_

The boy rubbed his dry eyes and sighed in obvious frustration.

_And then… it turned out to be such a boring argument. A complete waste of my time... I could've learnt a new serve by now -_

"...If they fire you, I'll resign."

The soft words dove clearly, powerfully, into his ears.

Ryoma could feel it jab mercilessly into a vital pumping organ in his chest.

His eyes went blank, yet blood surged within his ribs...just as his fingers dug into the tree bark, crumbling the corroded insides to dust, but leaving the outside cool and unharmed.


	13. The Bait(s)

"…If they fire you, I'll resign."

Akito's eyes widened. But before he could say anthing more, there was a flutter of glimmering auburn hair and she had disappeared behind his gate.

He shook his head and grinned, a little triumphant, a little confused, and a little amused. Before he walked back to the warmth of his house, his hazel eyes lingered on a cherry blossom tree across the street, and his eyes glowed in the fading lights with a subtle challenge.

"What will you do _now_, Echizen...?"

* * *

Sakuno moved down the pedistrian path slowly. She needed time to think, to sort out this messy and unexpected turn of events.

_Why should he take all the blame?_

_I was the one who started it...if I hadn't spilled the coffee, if I hadn't talked back to his insults, if I had appologized more...There were tons of things which I did wrong. Yet __**he **__got punished for them, not me. Oh, Akito-kun...you are silly..._

Lost in thought, her leather boots accidentally dug into a block of ice, splintering it into a thousand pieces under her weight. She kicked the largest piece out of her way, but her frustration only seemed to have enhanced her clumsiness, for she partly missed and only made contact with the jagged block as her feet came back down. It flew behind her in a zig-zaggy line. She didn't take much notice of it at all, for who would pay extra attention to a broken shard of ice on the road? That is, before it flies back at you.

Still occupied in her own thoughts, Sakuno didn't notice the ice whizzing towards her until it bounced off her heel. She looked down in surprise and was just deciding whether or not it was her imagination when a voice as cool as the ice caused her to spin around in greater astonishment.

"Too slow." The boy with emerald hair and Seigaku school uniform emerged from the darkness, his tennis bag still slung carelessly over his right shoulder. A smirk appeared on his lips, although it was so faint it was barely visible. "Physically _and_ mentally."

Sakuno was stunned to silence as she watched the boy stroll up to her, kicking aside more blocks of ice along the way. And when she finally regained the ability of speech she could only splutter in confusion.

"Ryoma-kun - why are you-I mean, how did you..."

She gave up and simply stood there gaping at him like a child who had just had her favourite doll confiscated. He looked back at her in faint amusement, but it faded as quickly as it came. His lips set back in a grim line.

"What are you doing out here so late at night?" He asked.

"Why am _I_...? What about _you_?" After she recovered from the first wave of shock at his sudden appearance, her annoyance seemed to have settle back in. The silent reproach was simmering within her suspicious eyes.

He shrugged and looked away. "As far as I know, this is a public road."

Awkwardness enveloped the pair as they walked in the direction of the cafe, with neither looking at the other person. A man yelled something two streets away, yet it sounded as clear as if he was right next to them.

It took a while before she rememberred and had gathered enough courage to demand the long-awaited explanation from him.

"...Why did you play seriously against him that day?"

Ryoma answered even without looking at her. "Do you think he would be happy if I held back?"

"Is this about _pride _again? If it is, then don't you realize the situation was beyond that? He was wounded!" She cried, and threw her arms out in disbelif.

There was a pause before his reply. "...What exactly is your definition of a 'wound'?"

She was getting very irritated. "What are you trying to say?"

For the first time, their eyes made contact as his face turned towards hers - for some reason, she felt an electrifying jolt of fear as the cold honey merged with warm chocolate.

"...Maybe I just have a narrower definition of the word, that's all."

She didn't know what to say after that. But she did distinctly feel her heart struggling to keep up with her mind as an unspoken truth formed in a fuzzy cloud inside her head, yet she was too afraid to make it focus. Something told her that the shape, or the colour, or even the texture..._something_ would not be what she wanted to see.

Luckily, her mind did not have time to linger upon this for long.

Sometime during their little venture back to the cafe, they had come to a relatively crowded area of the city where everywhere they looked there were groups of girls toying with the knobs and dials of a _Purikura _photo machine, and gangs of boys screaming over online games in internet cafes. It was a popular spot for tennagers seeking late-night entertainment. Sakuno's friends rarely invite her to come here, though - they knew how disgusted she was at the untasteful language heard throughout the streets and her awareness of the higher teenage crime rate in this particular area. She had not the faintest idea about Ryoma though - perhaps he was often brought here by Momoshiro for one of their famous hamburger shops. Therefore she did not take much notice when he flinched. It was only when he grabbed her arm and dragged her into a nearby alleyway that she was slightly taken back. Immediately her mouth opened to resist, yet she was forced to shut it again when he pressed a finger on his own lips to signal silence. With the little fear that was settling in, she watched as his expression change from solemn to alarm and from alarm to exasperation. Reaching into his tennis bag, he fumbled around for something, all the while his eyes were glued on an unknown object across the road. Sakuno looked around but only saw a couple of girls giggling over a stray dog gnawing at an old bone. She frowned and was just opening her mouth to ask when he pulled out his Regular jacket and shoved it into her arms.

"Wear it." Whispering, his voice showed a rare sense of urgency.

She didn't take it but stared at him in confusion. "What are you-"

"Just _wear_ it."

Although still in a hazy state of puzzlement, she decided to temporarily overlook her anger at him and took it. As she slid her arms into its baggy sleeves she was surprised at its warmth, and she couldn't help but colour slightly at the faint smell of Ryoma which wafted out from its material lining.

"...Sorry, I only use baits when I'm desperate." As if pressed for time, he rushed through the explanation and began sprinting away before even waiting for her to agree. However, he did not forget to murmur a quick expression of gratitude before he was out of earshot.

"Thanks, _Ryoma_."

Sakuno stared after him with huge, blank eyes, and watched as he sped past the girls like a hurricane. The girls seemed to have noticed him anyway, even without his regular jacket, for they squealed and one of them pointed in the Prince's direction. Then the three of them nodded and ran after him, Sakuno could still hear their giggles of delight thirty seconds after they had followed him and vanished around the corner.

_Well, __**I **__was a useful bait. _She thought with sarcastic amusement. Looking down at the baggy jacket which drooped down to the middle of her thighs, she bit back a smile.

_Not that I even look anything __**like **__him to be his replacement...what on earth was he thinking!?_

She continued to walk in the direction of The Snow Cottage, but much of her frustration and anger has now dissipated due to the weird but intriguing event minutes before.

_I hope he's all right... not torn to pieces by his enthusiastic fans or anything. But why would anyone... run in the direction of the thing they are trying to avoid?_

* * *

His lungs burned with the need for oxygen. His breathes came out in short sharp puffs of smoke as he tore through the streets.

Casting a few quick glances behind him, Ryoma slowed to a jog when he was certain that he had lost the girls who were tailing him five minutes ago. He exhaled a sigh of relief and leaned against a shop window to rest. Even though he runs twenty laps around the tennis courts a day, the violent exercise was still tiring, as laps around tennis courts do not usually include the mental strain of constantly looking out for girls from his now non-existing fanclub.

_Well, the girls who joined the fanclub have achieved their goal after all... since I __**do**__ remember their faces now...for my own safety. _Ryoma shook his head sadly and unbuttoned the first button of his uniform to let in more air. The coolness was refreshing, although a Ponta would be better.

A girl with long brown hair and a slender springy body walked past him. His shoulders tensed, but when he realized it wasn't _her_, he relaxed again. He hates himself when he does that. He didn't even know when it started. But whenever _she'_s around, he feels queasy, restless... unlike himself. Even through he is still unable to admit it, he is beginning to recognize his fear of this feeling.

The fear of _so much_ feeling.

Echizen Ryoma had always been cold, emotionless, and dense. He liked it that way, and this foreign feeling which had sprung up from nowhere certainly wasn't going to disrupt that reputation. So he avoided her. He refused to look at her, speak to her, or even extend a helping hand when he saw her struggling, once again, with her English homework. He doidn't want that feeling; it would most likely do just the opposite of benefiting him, and would therefore serve as an obstacle in life, whether it was in terms of school or tennis. Ryoma didn't want to be tied down, to be restrained by a single rope of intangible emotion which he had no way of knowing how to cut loose. And so he chose to escape, to break loose before the rope has tightened around his heart.

However, his heart was one thing, and his mind was another.

Even before he had seen her shivering at Tezuka Akito's door, he knew she was cold... no one but her can be as stupid as coming out in the middle of winter in nothing but a skimpy cafe waitress's uniform. "Well, it serves her right for rushing so mindlessly to _his_ house."... was what flashed through his mind, a most pathetic, but normal thought for a young man. But the fiery competitive spirit of youth that burned within him like red hot charcoal blinded him from all other importance, including his pride, and his hand grabbed the jacket in his bag, tempted to crush the gentleman act of the other boy with one of his own marvelous performances when-

_"…If they fire you, I'll resign."_

* * *

...People often wonder, what truly is love? Is it the overpowering desire to have one another? Is it the suicidal act of flinging oneself down a bottomless cliff in order to save another? Or is it something as simple as making a hot steamy mug of chocolate for someone after a long hard day? Perhaps there will never be an exact definition, but what is for sure is that the greatest love stories, the kind that draws out a long string of tears from under those long inky eyelashes, are always for one to wish another absolute happiness, and to assist in that person in seeking that happiness...even if it doesn't involve them.

At that precise moment, the sight of her trembling lips and her locked brows defrosted a part of him, a part of him that has never been touched before. And the answer he had been longing for came tumbling out. Yes, he realized the brows were locked for a man other than himself, and the glistening moisture in her eyes expressed a determination that has never been shown for him before. But his most important discovery is that these feelings are of little significance if by _his_ side is where her happiness truly lies.

_His. Akito's._

No matter how dumbstruck he was when the truth unfolded before him, he realized he could do nothing to contribute towards her happiness if it doesn't include him. For it is quite clear now... Akito was more important than him in her mind, although he cursed the cruel fate which has revealed this along with his realization of the girl's status in his mind.

Despite his frozen expression, his chest had throbbed with pain.

_What the hell should I do now? Just... leave her shivering?_ The hand on the tree trunk had curled into a tight fist as he watched her walk off. What happens if the person who is supposed to give her happiness doesn't fully look after her? Surely she would not be happy if she caught a _cold_.

He was going to give her the Regular jacket efficiently, just drape it over her as he would over a manikin. But his regained pride stopped him. Now that he could think straight again and not blown away by the intense feeling of rivalry... such gentleman gestures (well, for him it is gentlemen) would be, after all, harmful to his reputation, He had not done it before and he was certainly not going to ruin his pride with it. Even the_ idea _of giving a girl a jacket generated goose bumps on his arms...

Then, just as his mind and his heart battled deep within him, he saw the girls, three of so many who frequently bashed him with autograph books, cameras, and English textbooks. He knew that despite their sweet appearances, their brutality sends shivers down even _his_ spine. Immediately he stuffed the jacket deeper into his bag, No, he couldn't risk having Ryuzaki walking past them. A replay of what happened last week would be the last thing he wanted... But if he gave her the jacket in front of those girls...then they are going to misunderstand and that is exactly what's going to happen.

_Misunderstand..._

And it was then that the baiting strategy occurred to him like a shimmering ray of light.

_..Luckily the plan seemed to have worked; Ryuzaki has always been slow at figuring things out. _Ryoma sighed and watched the rainbow neon lights weaving out an exquisite fish pattern above him. _Although I'm not quite sure if I did the right thing..._He scanned the crowds of pedestrians for any sign of his three female fans. They were, fortunately, nowhere in sight.

_Ugh, heroic acts of sacrificing oneself for someone else really isn't my thing after all..._He wiped his forehead in exhaustion and adjusted the straps of his tennis bag which have loosened during the run. Coins jingled in his pockets as he set off towards the train station. Spare change was always kept in his uniform for the unpredictable Ponta cravings that he has. And he was thankful for this habit; for he would need a little more cash today than usual to reach his destination and, maybe, award himself with a can of Ponta after his mission.

_Yes… if I want to end this, I would end this properly._


End file.
